## **Annan the History Town Group** Charity registration number SC053232 (Scotland) ANNUAL REPORT AND UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 ## Annan the History Town Group ## LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION ## **Trustees** **Charity number** (Scotland) SC053232 ## **Principal address** 3, Hospital Road Annan DG12 5JE ## **Independent examiner** Saint & Co 26 High Street Annan Dumfries & Galloway DG12 6AJ ## Annan the History Town Group 1. Trustees' report including reports from Development Officers 2. Statement of financial activities 3. Independent examiner's report ## Annan the History Town Group ## **1. TRUSTEES' REPORT** ## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's [governing document], the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019). ## **Objectives and activities** The charities stated purposes are: To promote Annan as “The History Town” for the benefit of the community of Annan and its environs whilst encouraging the advancement of Annan’s heritage and culture including the improvement of citizenship or community development through education. We aim to work with other organisations to achieve these purposes. We use our blueprint document to develop an action plan giving various projects different levels of priorities. The charity uses a combination of exhibitions, festival events, walks, talks to highlight the heritage of the town. Community projects encourage community involvement wherever possible. A public art centrepiece has inspired many locals to become involved with planning, design and fundraising. The establishment of a Family/Clan Gathering has brought the town to the attention of an international audience with many visiting the event. ## **Achievements and performance** The group may be small but the dedicated trustees, committed staff and enthusiastic volunteers make up an industrious bunch, punching well above our weight and we have achieved such a great deal in such a short time. 2024-2025 has been a year when the Annan History Town Group continued to make a difference for the people of our ancient Royal Burgh. Last April saw a transformational change in the way Annan the History Town operated. We appointed two Development Officers to share a post funded by Dumfries and Galloway Council from a £40,000 grant which I had secured the previous year. Gail McPhillips eagerly took up the role of progressing our Annan Blueprint from paper into reality, whilst Graeme MacGregor (Events) continued to make a success of our Annan the History Town Summer Festival. The year began with a review of our Blueprint Action Plan under guidance. It was interesting to see how some of the projects which were given lesser priority in May 2024 had actually become central to our core operation by April 2025. The Motte and Bailey grew and grew in importance. It started with concern about the overgrowth at the site which obscured views to and from the river. Visits were crucial from both a Council Manager, which led to a successful cutback of shrubbery etc, and from (Historic Environment Scotland) who gave invaluable advice on what we could and could not do. Similarly, the associated Everholm Pavilion has moved from very low priority to high on the agenda for future consideration. However, effort and ingenuity has worked most brilliantly with the Annan Public Art Centrepiece, moving it from my wish list item in the Blueprint document at the back of the pack to potential winning status. The Spirit of The Annan (SoTA) is now an inspirational planned sculpture, using recycled metal from the two storm-destroyed Annan bridges. The scheme has community backing, with school engagement and a community competition to name the sculpture and the sculptor , , also delivering sessions where local people forged pieces of metal in portable blacksmith forge. These identifiable pieces will be incorporated into the final art piece. Several fundraising events have been held to raise funds for the Spirit of the Annan, including a successful Race Night at the Football Social Club, kindly organised by Vice Chair, . A special mention must also go to , a local resident, who raised over £2000 for his great running efforts in the 100 kilometre Canalthon on behalf of this project. -oOo- **Development Officer’s Report (Project Funding) –** _This past year has been one of continued growth and creative ambition for Annan The History Town, with significant progress made across our portfolio of heritage, arts, and community projects. As Development Officer, my focus has been on securing funding, driving project delivery, and ensuring that the voices of our community are embedded at every stage of our work._ _A major highlight has been the ongoing success of the_ _**Spirit of The Annan** project. Beginning with the Forging Our History project, we held five public forging workshops, bringing together over 900 local residents, schools and community groups to contribute a 163 handcrafted metal pieces so far to be incorporated into our striking new public sculpture. The base for the sculpture is now fully funded and ready to be installed this year, with artist Nathan Robinson leading the build phase. Alongside this, we’ve begun extensive community engagement around the redesign of the Everholm site, developing plans that reflect local priorities for green space, connection, and renewal._ _With many funding applications written, I have been successful in securing funding from a wide range of sources, including the Coastal Benefit Fund, CLLD, Dumfries and Galloway Cultural Fund, The National Lottery Awards for All, and Parks4Life. The latter is supporting the development of a_ _**community edible garden** at Everholm part of our growing focus on the Everholm redevelopment including sustainability, heritage planting, and shared outdoor learning spaces._ _Work is also underway on the_ _**History Hub Active Travel Trail** , a digital and physical walking route linking key historic locations in Annan, complete with interpretation panels, games,_ _and activities for all ages. Designed to be inclusive, mobile-friendly, and engaging, this trail will showcase Annan’s history while encouraging healthier lifestyles and increased footfall in the town._ _While continued funding for a worker post remains a challenge, the progress achieved to date reflects strong community collaboration and a clear vision for heritage-led regeneration. I remain committed to working with the Trustees to secure future investment, build lasting partnerships, and deliver on the ambitions of the Blueprint Document at Annan the History Town._ -oOo- During the year we also delivered our fourth Annan History Town Festival funded by local businesses and various small grants. We put together an extended programme of events commencing with the launch at Newington Leisure Centre in June. has particularly to be commended for the “Gathering of the Clans” event which drew families from across the world to Annan. Despite having to change the venue at the last minute, the event was well attended and we will be building on it again in 2025. It included Parade of the Clan Chiefs and representatives of ARMSTRONG, CARRUTHERS, IRVING, HANNAY and HUNTER clans amongst others. A series of Community Interest exhibitions were also well attended in the St Andrew’s Church Hall. These included Annan through the Ages- Sports’, The Arts and Population Change. A huge thanks to all those who contributed to their success. In addition to the Festival work, continued to develop more walks and ambles around Annan and to promote our “Friends” network. The Secretary’s sterling work in preparing the Group for charitable status, allowed us to become a SCIO in early 2024. This gives us access to more areas of funding and affords trustees protection from financial liability. -oOo- ## **Development Officer’s Report (Events) -** ## **Funding.** _Total amount exceeded £17,000. Local sponsorship exceeded £6,000 (marketing sponsors, event sponsors and Ambassadors). £11,000 funding from D &G Council (Regional Events Growth, Common Good, Coastal Fund)_ ## **Publicity** . _Annan The History Town benefitted from more coverage, mainly due to the Coastal Fund (allowing ATHT promote Clan Gathering on ITV Border). What’s On leaflets distributed through outlets in central Scotland, North Cumbria, Ayrshire as well as Dumfries & Galloway region._ _Local media included DNGMedia, Dumfries Standard, DG Life, Dumfries & Galloway What’s On and social media. Double page spreads featuring the Clan Gathering._ _Banners and posters distributed for individual events around the town. Tesco window vinyl._ ## **Festival Events.** _Nine events in total. Just over 4,600 people attended our various events._ _Free events included Launch Day, Step Back In Time on Annan High Street, FUNDay at Corner House Hotel and 3 weekend exhibitions._ _The Clan Gathering attracted visitors from many areas of England, America as well as our region. This was our only ticketed event with opportunites to purchase advance tickets at reduced prices._ _The Everholm location flooded two days prior to the event which meant a last-minute switch of venue. It was difficult to manage all the entrance points to Newington sports field which may have resulted in a loss of admission income on the day. Results from an exit survey at the Gathering showed that the local economy benefitted from an income more than £40,000 with 81% of those interviewed recommending the Clan event to a friend/colleague._ -oOo- During the year we continued to increase our visibility. We received funding for a Border TV advert which was well received. Our on-line presence also improved. Our Facebook page now has 2001 followers. Our Trailtale app, which guides visitor around town, has had 350 downloads. We recently launched our own You tube channel. Our Spirit of the Annan Forging Video has had 382 views. Joyce Wylie’s rendition of the Annan Water poem has had 105 views, while the Motte and Bailey drone footage has had 20 views so far. Looking forward, we are facing difficult challenges. Despite a Goliath effort from Gail McPhillips crafting numerous funding bids we have only been partly successful in securing money to continue the evolving Development Officer Post. Trustees must find a way to continue the good work progressed on a number of key projects and at the same time find more funding to keep the good work going. We have money to carry out our commitment to the 2025 Summer Festival, but it looks likely that we will have to concentrate on a few prestige events which promote Annan’s rich heritage. Chairman ## **2. FINANCIAL REVIEW** ## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** Funds brought forward at the beginning of the 2024-2025 financial year were £38,168.15. As well as the funds brought forward from last year, money was received from various grants including the D&G Council grant which we began to receive at the end of the previous financial year. This grant continued until the end of February 2025. It has allowed us to support 2 Development Officers. Coastal Benefit Funding (£7379) was spent on advertising and marketing for our events and some of the performers at events. Regional Events funding (£4000) helped with entertainment and production of events. The Regional Cultural Fund (£3980) and CLLD funding (£4980) allowed us to put on events showcasing and offering taster sessions for traditional crafts - including the forging events connected to our Spirit of The Annan (SoTA) project. National Lottery Community funding (£1891) helped with the presentation of our exhibitions and support for our much-appreciated volunteers, without whom the exhibitions would not have been possible. Along with the support of our wonderful volunteers, we would not have been able to put on all our events without the financial support of our many local sponsors, (£8215) whether for specific events or the Summer Festival in general. Several of them have supported us in previous years, and we thank them for their continued support, but new sponsors have come along too, and we cannot emphasise how much their support is appreciated. Collections at events, such as the Easter trail for families around Annan, winter talks, FUNDay, the Come & Try event, the Step back in Time event on Annan High Street, exhibitions, a race night and our Clan Gathering have shown the generosity of our supporters in bringing in extra funds to help pay for said events. Other organisations and businesses have supported us with their willingness to sell booklets, walks, and tickets on our behalf to local people, and those from further afield, and we feel this is a huge bonus for the group. Autumn 2024 saw us begin to receive money specifically donated for the SoTA project from sponsors and the public (£23303.21) so that our income over the year totalled £91,623.48. Our expenditure for the financial year came to £72,433.80. As already mentioned, grants from funders were spent on events and accounted for to their satisfaction. As a group, money also had to be spent on the basics such as subscriptions, insurance, room hire, etc so that the end of the financial year saw us with £19,189.68 surplus. Along with the £38,168.15 from the previous year we therefore had a total of £57,357.83. This sounds a lot, but much of this money is ringfenced for specific areas e.g. SoTA, (£23,303.21) and as match funding towards our projects (Rising Star financial award £10,000), ATHT annual costs such as insurance, subscriptions etc and as a charity we are obliged to keep some money in Reserve {£50001. Entertainers, venues, advertising and costs associated with putting on events do not come cheap so that although it may sound a lot it could disappear very quickly if we are not careful. Our Accounts were examined by Saint & Co at end March 2025 and copies of their final statement are included below. Joint Treasurers Reserves policy The trustees, poliry is to retain up to 12 months worth of normal running costs in order to meet commitments (excluding restricted funds) and to cover any unexpected expenditure. The trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks. Structure• governance and management The charity is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (a SCIO). It was registered in its current th legal form on 26 March 2024. It has a two tier structure and as such the trustees are elected by the members of the charity. Membership of the SCIO is open to all interested parties. We currently have 21 fv11 members, 30 other volunteers and 50'Friends' who received newsletter updates. The trustees who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were". Thp tru£tpp4' rpDnrt was approved by the Board of Trustees. Trustee 3. INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT ANNAN THE HISTORY TOWN GROUP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2025 .(iAINT&CO APIIIANIHE MIST￿T0￿m GROUP FIPIAP4aALSTAT£P•lE14TS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31sfMARCH ZOZ5 1025 2024 INCOME Cash Banked Events sponsorship & tlonath?ns Running C￿ts Grants 4,166.96 4.(th1.00 .215.IXI 4.795.62 748.10 7.788.90 7.610.00 24327.50 19.511J7 23JOJ.21 SOTA Projert Pettycash Council Grant Other 750 8.763.56 31.136A4 50. 9L62I48 S4,041. EXPENDIWRE 5plf Employed Expenrtiture Websit Performe¥s Festival Promotion RunningQ￿ts InsUra￿t Event Costs Cash Payrnents CourKil Grant 38,743.75 11.617.62 300.OD 1.407.iXI lo￿11.29 14,740.43 1,775.03 3310.63 750 262WJ lJbgiS2 $241J6 4.11*)A9 0.0. expenses CLLD Subscriptions Room hire Volunteer expenses TA donations Re8K)nal cuhurallund Commen 8ty)d C8fund N Lot Corn fund 70.Z6 4JS4.25 821.98 450. 49.60 521.43 3,983.87 1,1￿.77 7,3BZ.28 lJ19.94 71431.80 44A32.39 NETSURPLUS DEF FOR THE YEAR 19.189.68 9.208.79 NOTES I. OPENING BANK 38.168.15 2. OPENING CASH 3. CLOSING 8ANK 57.357.83 4. CLOSING CASH ANNAN ThE H15foRYTOWN GROUP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR ThE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2025 We approve these financial staternents and coTrfirm th•t twe ￿¥t m•de a￿ll&ble all relevJftt records and information for their preparation. In accordance with instructions given to us. we have prepa￿￿, without caryinE out an aud¢ the annexed accounts from the record5. inforniatlon and e¥planations supplieil to US. We certify Ihese finarKi•l statements are a record ol the financial position of Annan the History receNed. 14 April 202S