## **For the year ending 31 March 2025** ## **Administrative Information** _**Charity Name:**_ Craigielands Community Woodlands _**Scottish Charity Number:**_ SC 053132 _**First Registered:**_ 20 February 2024 _**Mailing Address:**_ Willow Cottage, Old Craigielands Beattock, Moffat DG10 9RD _**Geographical Focus:**_ Parish of Kirkpatrick Juxta _**Principle Activity:**_ Management of Local Woodland for Community Benefits _**Trustees, as at 31Mar25:**_ ## **Activity Report** ## _**Background**_ The charity is proposing to acquire the local woodland, Craigielands Wood, just west of Beattock village, as a community asset, from the current owners, Forestry and Land Scotland, FLS - an arm of the Scottish Government. This woodland was offered by FLS for community acquisition in July 2022. A small startup team was formed at that time, endeavouring to progress the transfer of the woodland. This initiative was subsequently established as a registered charity, with team members becoming trustees. The acquisition process is complex, requiring many stages towards successful accomplishment, over an extended timeframe, and involving interaction with a variety of organisations, both Government agencies and commercial entities. ## _**Progress during Reporting Year**_ All of the charity’s activities during the year under report, 01Apr24 to 31Mar25, were directed towards this objective, undertaking a series of legal, financial and administrative steps towards the goal of community acquisition, supported by inputs of community engagement – aiming to broaden the appeal of the proposal to community involvement and support. A small tranche of grant finance from the Scottish Land Fund, SLF, was utilised to prepare a Feasibility Study, and subsequent Business Plan, for the proposed project, by engaging an experienced forestry consultant. Key milestones during the reporting year are noted below. - 29 April 2024 Appointment of consultant Crossbill for Feasibility Study & Business Plan - 13 May 2024 Approval received from SLF for stage 1 funding for set-up osts - 24 May 2024 Acceptance by trustees of Feasibility Study presented by Crossbill - 12 Jun 2024 Draft Business Plan presented to trustees by consultant Crossbill - 27 Aug 2024 Valuation of Craigielands Wood conducted by Goldcrest Land & Forestry - 10 Sep 2024 Business plan prepared by Crossbill accepted by trustees - 04 Oct 2024 CATS Panel visit undertaken, prior to intended formal offer of sale - 07 Oct 2024 Formal validation of trustees application to CATS - 07 Jan 2025 Community Engagement Questionnaire – distribution day - 03 Mar 2025 Community Engagement Open Day held in Beattock Village Hall ## **Notes** SLF Scottish Land Fund CATS Community Asset Transfer Scheme – within Forestry and Land Scotland – an agency of the Scottish Government As of 31March2025, 26 persons were registered as Members of CCW, (resident within Kirkpatrick Juxta), and a further 10 persons were registered as Associate Members, (resident outwith Kirkpatrick Juxta). ## **Craigielands Community Woodlands SCIO Charity SC 053132** ## **Trustees Annual Report and Financial Statement for year ending 31Mar2025** ## **Accompanying Notes** The entity known as Craigielands Community Woodlands has been formed as a start-up team, proposing to acquire Craigielands Wood, (just west of Beattock village) as a community woodland enterprise, through discounted purchase from Forestry and Land Scotland (an agency of the Scottish Government). The procedure towards this aim is slow and complex, involving numerous administrative steps, to try to reach the point of acquisition. After 39 months from our initial approach to Government, we are still far short of the anticipated transfer of the land into community hands. In the expectation of early progress towards community ownership, the start-up team submitted an application to OSCR for registration as a Scottish charity – a SCIO. Formal registration was approved in February 2024. Start-up team members became registered as trustees, although there were few transactions, and woodland ownership was still a distant prospect. An Annual Report has been prepared, for the first operating year, ending 31Mar2025, along with a corresponding Financial Report. Belatedly, trustees are recognising that – _although our operations remain heavily curtailed by the ongoing acquisition process_ – there are obligations upon us, as a registered SCIO, with which we have not been fully compliant. No formal Annual General Meeting has been held in year 2024-25, office bearers have not been appointed for the management board, and management meetings have been informal. The trustees intend that this circumstance will be corrected for financial year 2025-26, and that our operations will comply with OSCR expectations, in future years. Forward Programme A priority for year 2025-26 will be to initiate Annual General Meetings. alongside the formalisation of the current ad hoc Management Board. Eflort8 will be made to widen our membership ecr088 the Community Council geographical area (of Kirkpatrick Juxta). and. rf possible. to recruit additionalTrustees. Durlng the years 2022 to 2024, there was a reasoned assumption that much ofthe capitslfunding for a discounted purchase of Criaigielands Wood could be anticipated to be made available through the Scottish Land Fund. SLF. A mis-match has arisen since late 2024. between the increased level of applications for community land acquisitions. and the limited finance available through SLF to support such acquisitions. This circumstance- of SLF future funding- should become clearer when the Scottish Government budget for 2026-27 is published - anticipated in mid-january 2026. The CCW start-up team will now broaden its efforts to identify possible sources of capitalfinance. both through SLF, and through local opportunities to access av8ilabLe communlty funding, and options for generating revenue through on-site timoer harvesting - including the significant volumes of wind-blown timber arising from the November 2021 Storm Arwen. Signed and approved by registered Twstee to Craigieiands CommunityWoodl8nds Flnandal Report lor Yoar OIAprll 2024 to 31March 2025 Cralglelands Communlty Woodlands Scottish Charity SC 053132 Charlty Malllng Addre88 . Wlllow Cottage, Old Cralglelandl, B•attock, MOff￿, DG10 9RD Roc•lpti and Paymonts Account Summary Project Account Recelpts 202>2024 from 01Apr23 to 31Mar24 20242025 from 01Apr24 to 31Mar25 Paymnts 202>2024 Irom 01Aprf23 to 31M&24 20%2025 from 01Apr24 to 31￿￿25 Donatk)n - Pn'vate Scottlsh LarKI Fu￿1 14-Juk23 21￿u￿24 11Y). (Y) 6,435.Crf) Cfftssblll FN8Stry 2￿￿￿24 0.00 6,435.(Kl Scottlsh L￿￿1 FurKJ o￿A(￿J.24 1912.C Crossblll FNestry l￿A￿-24 0.00 2,911.13 Scottlsh Furnl 2￿￿8￿24 111XJ.C Gokjcresi LaThJ & F( 2&S*24 o. 2,100.(XI Scottlsh La11 FuTrJ O&Nov-24 111 Crossblll F(Kestry 1&Nov-24 o.co Donatbn - T￿tor Run 2&D￿-24 B￿￿ Charges . WS 1&M¥-25 4.25 2023.2024 1CKI.(MJ 202&2025 12,547.Lkl 202>2024 202*2025 12,250.38 Y•ar Tolals Owlr¥J Bank BalarKe Ck)slw Bank Balance Surplus lor Y 01-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Ba818 of Accountlng TIEse &counts have I￿en wepml on a R￿elp1S PAMI PayM￿ts basls, &cordaKe wlth OSCR rg3ulaiky R8munwaiSon All inF4rts furnis1￿1 by ttkq Truslees have been KYOVI￿j on a Volunt￿ basls wlth rn r8murwatk)n pakj for t￿lf servtes Cash No cash tr￿&th￿S durfNJ yw. No cash f*kl 11XI.CM) 1CM).fy) o￿nINj Bank B*ance Ck)slw Bank Balance Surplu• for Yoar 01-Apr-24 31-Mar-25 1CK).(K) 396.62 .62 Sh3rBJ ￿ Approved by wlster&J Trustee 10 cra￿￿1￿XIS Communtty W￿dIa￿lS Date 07 MOKI s￿n( Independent Exarninerfs Report to the Trustees of Craigielands Community Woodland5 I report on the accounts of the charity the year ended 31" March 2025 as set out on pages I to 4. The chariWs trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the tern)s of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotlandl Act 2005 and the CharitEs Accounts {Scotlandl Regulations 21x16. The charity trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10{l) Id) of the Accounts Regulations does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts as reqUI￿d under sertion 44111 Ic) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention. Ba51s of Independent examlnees report My exarnination is carried out in accordance wth Re8ulation 11 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Re8ul3tions 2(X)6. An exarntnatton indudes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the acccwnts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosure5 in ihe accounts, and seeks explanations from the trustees concerning any suth matters. The procedures undertaken do rK)t provide all the evidence ihat would be Tequired in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on ihe view given by the accounts. Independent examlnerfs staternert In the course of rny examination. no matter has Con￿ to my attention: which Oves me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the reqtsirernents: to keep accounting records in accordance wrth Sertion 44(1) (a) of the 2(NJ5 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations, and to wepare accounts which accord with accounting records and comply with Regulation 9 of the 2006 Accounts Regulat￿nS have not been met, or 2. to which, in my opinion, attertlon should be drawn in order to enable a proper urKlerstandln8 of the accounts to be reache