The Trustees, who are also directors for the purposes of the Companies Act, present their report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024. The Directors have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” (FRS 102) in preparing the annual report and financial statements of the charity.
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 Companies Act 2006, 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)” (second edition - October 2019) (effective 1 January 2019).
Mission
Fountainbridge Canalside Community Trust (FCCT) aims to make our local area a better place to live, work, do business and visit. We focus on working with others to create and manage new projects that support and strengthen opportunities for economic, environmental and cultural activity that benefit the community. We also will promote social inclusion, sustainability and well-being.
Main aims
Enable and encourage local groups to include the canal in any social, cultural, recreational and economic regeneration plans
Encourage the development of bio diverse corridors into any developments and greening towpath areas and public spaces connected to the canal, and ensure implementation of the Fountainbridge Green Plan
Use the unique asset of Re-Union canal boats to provide opportunities for training and education and for recreational use by visitors and local people
Stimulate the development of social enterprises in the area
Develop a voice for canalside communities in order that a constructive dialogue and commitment is developed with funders, investors and stakeholders.
Objectives for 2024-2025
To continue to develop the regular activities of Fountainbridge Canalside Community Trust (FCCT).
To offer a full programme of events, private and community hires, and volunteering activities on Lochrin Belle and consolidate our customer offer and volunteering opportunities using the two newer boats – Waterwitch and Kingfisher.
To develop a project to replace Lochrin Belle with a new boat and seek funding support.
To negotiate new canalside premises at Fountainbridge with the support of partners.
To continue to offer certificated volunteer training and support a ‘route to employment’ through training up Boatmasters.
To build upon the Edinburgh Canal Festival along the full stretch of canal in our area of benefit.
To ensure the financial stability of the organisation by seeking funding for projects from April 2025 onwards, through both applications for our own activities and projects that involve working in partnership with others.
Activities
FCCT Greenspace Group
In 2023 we did a 12-week pilot to establish a weekly canalside greenspace group. In early 2024, we received funding for 15 months from the People’s Postcode Trust to support this group, who maintain and develop local greenspaces for people and for nature. At the end of this year (March 2025), this project had delivered 60 volunteers sessions – that is the weekly Tuesday group, plus some special sessions at other times. The sessions are all outdoors in one of our canalside greenspaces. Weekly activities focus on noticing nature and maintaining and improving our local spaces, whilst learning and sharing skills, and trying new things.
Events have run on a variety of topics that aim to get people outdoors, exploring or appreciating their local greenspaces – with the target of 300 people engaging with us through these being well exceeded. The events included a Foraging Day in September with two guided walks and a drop-in activity, our annual Railway Path clear-up day in early January, and Mushroom Workshop (very popular – 45 people applied, and we could only accommodate 20 people in the room). We also ran two events in Harrison Park – First Signs of Spring and ‘Herb-clipse’ in February and March this year.
Feedback from the group, particularly in terms of its impact on wellbeing has included comments such as “I feel rooted and nourished when I'm with the group and to meet people I wouldn't know otherwise.” “Positive effects on well-being. Being outside with others learning new skills and knowledge.” “Helping me feel more connected to the area I live in. nice to meet new people living in the area too.”
The Tuesday morning groups register has grown to 52 people. At the start of the year we averaged 8 people per session but this had increased to an average of 11 by March 2025. Over 1,000 hours of volunteer time has been given this year through this project.
Canalside Walking Group
The walking group similarly goes from strength to strength. With 4 volunteer walk leaders, the project is well supported and has seen a rise in the average number of weekly walkers.
We have had 8 new walkers in this period, 4 of whom now walk regularly, 2 came on several walks, one became a walk leader. This now brings the total walkers on our register to 46. They are people of all ages 20s to 80s and 35% men (some groups struggle to attract men).
We held 50 walks this year (only a break at Christmas and New Year). Typically 5-13 walkers attend each Thursday, with an average of 9 people per walk over the year. Numbers are gradually growing, up to average of 10 per week for final quarter in the winter months. This is often the time of year when the walking group is most appreciated to get out and about with others.
All walks started from the swans at Fountainbridge Square, various routes for about an hour along canal towpath, railway path, Harrison Park, Meadows, North Merchiston Cemetery, The Union Canal -Roseburn link, Haymarket Loop, Royal Edinburgh Community Garden, Old and New Town, 3 Bridges Route, Floral Clock. We attended “Tales from the Towpath” together and took part in Scottish Canals consultation about the Lochrin basin together.
From December of this year, the project is receiving some much welcome funding from Awards for All, to help us develop and sustain a good number of walk leaders and to attract new and different walkers by putting on special events.
Edinburgh Canal Festival (June 2024)
The annual Edinburgh Canal Festival in June provided a huge amount of free activities and entertainment. We exceeded our expectations for this year’s event by involving around 70 organisations, groups and performing groups (up from around 50 in 2023).
We wanted to attract new partners to allow us to reach new audiences, as most partners share their participation with their own group members and attendees. New partners which we feel helped the festival attract different audiences were Andy's Menshed, Capital Theatres, The Filmhouse, Home Start, Port Edgar Dragons (Cancer survivors), The Green Team, SW Edinburgh Community Police, Dishoom as well as several community based musicians and bands, and belly dancing and Brazilian dancing groups.
The Raft Race was run by Driftwood Adventure, who were new to organising such an event, saw people dressing up and decorating canoes (rather than the traditional homemade rafts). This allowed for more people to get on the water for the event – nearly 50 people - although took some of the spectating enjoyment and jeopardy away from what some were used to. We are looking to do something a bit different in 2025.
It is, as ever, difficult to estimate the number of attendees due to the dispersed nature and drop in style of outdoor event this has become, but we estimate the number of attendees was in the thousands.
Small Community Events
Tales from the Towpath: As part of our National Lottery Heritage Fund project, we partnered with Citadel Arts Group, whose members wrote playlets relating the canal history or culture. We put on a short series of these 7 playlets, performed by professional actors in the unique setting of the moving canal boat, with some scenes on the towpath. 167 attended one of these free performances. Due to their success, we did another run of performances in August, this time with a small charge attached to tickets.
Heritage Project: A small part of our heritage project involves running smaller community events, and this year 35 attended one of three free workshops relating to poetry and stories onboard the Lochrin Belle.
Bat Walk: Now a regular feature of September, we again invited Graham to guide and teach us about bats in Harrison Park, with around 80 people attending. This is about the maximum we can have without people not being able to hear the fascinating information so we are planning to do a walk and another event – potentially a ‘bat cruise’ - in 2025.
Pumpkins in the Park: 40 families (approx. 100 people) dropped-in to take part in free autumn themed crafts and activities. The event was well received by local people, and we already have ideas of how to make this into an annual autumnal celebration event.
Flotilla of Light: Every November, we take part in the flotilla of light – an event where the boating community put on a procession of lit up boats which parade from Harrison Park to the Lochrin Basin. We used this opportunity this year to promote our community survey and chat to people on the banks of the canal about their community.
Christmas Crafts and Market at North Merchiston Club: This was another family focussed event, where locals could drop in to purchase Christmas gifts from local makers, and also make some free natural Christmas decorations (wreaths etc.). Approx 60 people attended.
Funded wellbeing projects
This year our funding for wellbeing projects on our canal boats came from Groundswell Consortium’s Innovation Fund. The project spans two financial years, and in 2024/25 we have delivered approximately half of the project. Groups from Health All Round’s ecotherapy project and Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain’s Edinburgh branch took part in short programmes on board the Lochrin Belle and for the first time we used Waterwitch to deliver a wellbeing programme to a small group from Fedcap (employability support).
Part of the funding emphasised the need for participants to have control over the programme and choose the activities they took part in. We facilitated this by offering a ‘menu’ of options, based around the broader topics of ‘Discover and Learn’, ‘Express and Create’, ‘Relax and Reflect’ and ‘Build and Care’. Groups chose the activities that made up their programme, from learning about nature to silent discos. One of the group commented “Calming effect from sitting and crafting and chatting. It’s easy to chat while your hands are busy”.
We collected monitoring data, which will be fully analysed in next year’s report, when the project will have concluded (with more groups from NKS and Royal Edinburgh completing programmes). For the groups this year, the main barriers to participation people felt existed for them included mental health conditions, increased anxiety, loneliness, unemployment and long-term health conditions.
Volunteer training and development
Our Volunteer Development Officer continued to build upon the relationships with long standing and new volunteers and expand on the opportunities and training available to them. During the year, 1 person passed their Boatmaster test to become a paid Skipper and 11 people received their Helmsman Certificate. We are supporting up to 3 further people to progress on their Boatmaster training. We held events to thank our volunteers during Volunteer Week (June) and at Christmas and aim to continue to provide interesting and well supported volunteer opportunities in our local area.
As part of our joint Heritage Project with The Sorted Project, 28 people achieved the First Aid Certificate, 14 people took the 2-day Mental Health First Aid course, and 4 people qualified as Pole Saw Operators, which will help in our canal maintenance. Corporate volunteering opportunities are also offered for small groups of colleagues who want to give back to the local communities. In 2024 we ran 6 sessions, mainly consisting of litter picking and tidying up our local canalside environment.
The above volunteering, together with the greenspace group, Canal Festival volunteers, walking group leaders and contributions from the FCCT Board resulted in a total of 5101 hours of time volunteering on our projects and making our community a better place to live, work, do business and visit. This has been valued at £65,767.40 (hours valued at Real Living Wage, and professional costs for Board Hours).
Boat trips
This year, the Lochrin Belle has played host to a total of 255 events (262 last year), with similarly around 4,000 people experiencing the unique environment of the canal through our floating venue. We ran 31 funded community trips (all free to participants), had 27 paid community group hires, 71 private hire trips, 33 Gin Cruises, 17 Afternoon Chais, 26 Candle Painting Cruises, 15 open volunteer sessions, 7 Boatmaster or Helmsman training sessions, and 22 static events or meetings.
The accounts for the year represent a 12 month period and the charity financial year end is 31st March 2025.
A surplus of £24,814 arose during the period (in 2024 this was a deficit of: £10,392), £7,324 of the surplus was attributable to the restricted funds and occurred due to the timing of expenditure.
At 31st March 2025, the balance on unrestricted funds was £156,216 including £49,000 of designated funds and £34,708 of restricted funds carried forward for expenditure in future years.
The trustees therefore consider the state of affairs of the organisation to be satisfactory.
Reserves policy
The board has set a target to retain reserves to a level at least equivalent to six months running costs for the organisation. For the year 2025/26, this amount has been calculated as £103,218.
The Board also have set aside reserves to be used as a replacement fund for the Lochrin Belle, which is nearing the end of her life as a trip boat, as well as for smaller IT and other equipment. At 31 March 2025, the value of this fund is £49,000.
Therefore, the amount of ‘free reserves’ held at the year end is £107,216, which meets the current reserves policy.
Principal sources of funding
Principal funding sources for this period were: National Lottery Heritage Fund, City of Edinburgh Council (CEC), South West Community grant, No One Left Behind and EERI (Edinburgh’s Employer Recruitment Incentive) programmes, Edinburgh 900 Events Funding, Volunteer Support Fund (Scottish Government (SG), via Impact Funding Partners, Awards for All, Development Trust Association Scotland (DTAS) Grassroots grant, People’s Postcode Lottery, Groundswell Consortium (University of Edinburgh), Women’s Fund for Scotland
The funds listed above were all restricted funds.
We also received donations and sponsorship for the Edinburgh Canal Festival from Vastint, Capreon, Savills, Crudens and Scottish Canals.
Funds were also received prior to 31 March 2025 from the Community Health and Wellbeing Fund (SG/EVOC) and The Longstone Trust for work taking place in the year April 2025-March 2026; these funds have been carried forward in full.
Going concern
After making appropriate enquiries, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the Charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements. Further details are given in the accounting policy 1.2.
Investment policy
Under the Memorandum and Articles of Association, the charity has the power to invest any money that the company does not immediately require in any investments, securities or properties. As there are few funds for long term investment the directors, having regard to the liquidity requirements of operating the charity and to the reserves policy, have operated a policy of keeping available funds in an interest bearing bank account.
Risk management
The Board have taken precautions to safeguard the operation of the organisation and have taken suitable action to mitigate risks to which the organisation may be susceptible. The Board continues to review the organisation and has established an annual Strategy Day in the autumn where sessions look at financial management, early warning guide for potential issues, reviewing current activities, and planning for short, medium and long term activities. We are currently using a ‘balanced scorecard’ model that helps to review our business in relation to our Business Model, Organisational Development, Financial Return and Social Return.
The Lochrin Belle is also approaching 15 years old and so a good maintenance schedule is essential to keep her running smoothly and again, able to fulfil the trips booked.
The Board of Directors is aware of the complexity of the external environment, especially in the current financial climate and will continue to assess the projects and activities we are involved in.
Plans for Future Periods
In 2025/2026 we will implement our exciting 3 year National Lottery Heritage Fund project and continue to ensure the sustainability of the regular activities of the organisation. This will also expand the range of community based activities that can be organised under the auspices of FCCT. We are actively planning and designing a replacement for Lochrin Belle involving volunteer and customer input to overcome the operating issues presented by Lochrin Belle. Funding negotiations have been entered into with Foundation Scotland to offer lynchpin funding for the boat build. We will continue to market our other boats - Kingfisher and Waterwitch. We will continue to build on the success of the new format for the Edinburgh Canal Festival, as well as initiating other activities and partnerships which provide community benefit in the Fountainbridge area. We hope to move forward with plans for gaining office and community space within the canalside developments.
Structure
Fountainbridge Canalside Community Trust has 12 Directors, who were voted in from the membership. FCCT employed on average 5 part time members of staff supplemented by casual skippers. The Development Manager reports to the Chair of the Board of Directors. The Board and Staff meet regularly to evaluate, monitor and plan the development of the organisation. As a social enterprise, FCCT implements its strategy based on social, environmental and economic goals.
Governing Document
Fountainbridge Canalside Community Trust is a company limited by guarantee governed by a Memorandum and Articles of Association voted in by the membership on 18 November 2021. It is registered as a charity with OSCR.
Trustees
The Trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
Recruitment and appointment of Trustees
Nominations to be a trustee are requested from the membership at the AGM. All trustees must stand down at the AGM but are eligible for re-election. The nominations for election are put to the membership at the AGM and the full board is thereby elected via an ordinary resolution. The number of trustees must not be more than 12, and not fewer than 5, unless otherwise determined by a special resolution. In addition, the Board may appoint up to 3 Specialist Advisors in a non-voting capacity. At their first meeting after the AGM the trustees elect their office bearers for the coming year. Further trustees can be appointed by the Board at any time during the year. As a Development Trust, FCCT has to ensure that 75% of the membership and trustees have to be recruited from the area of benefit.
The Board has a set recruitment policy for new trustees. This involves a number of stages:
Trustees or staff are regularly asked to put forward proposals for new trustees from contacts or from networking
Staff in the organisation discuss Board membership with interested individuals, to brief them on the expectations, roles and responsibilities that they can expect if they join the Board.
The Board will discuss the potential Trustee, and if they decide to proceed, the applicant is invited as an observer to a Board meeting.
If the individual remains interested, the Board then decide whether to co-opt that individual onto the Board.
Organisation structure
The Board of Trustees of FCCT have delegated day-to-day operational management of the organisation to the Development Manager. The Board has developed and continues to develop and update a series of policies for the operational management of the Company, which the Development Manager is responsible for implementing. The Board also proceed to develop new procedures in certain areas to ensure compliance. The Board has established sub-groups to work on particular issues: Boats; Environmental projects; Marketing; Economic Development and Policy Development & Review. As well as our regular Board and sub-group meetings, we hold an annual Strategy Day.
The Board is responsible for developing the strategic direction of the organisation, with advice from its staff and volunteers as well as for making major financial and legal decisions, including the establishment of new activities or projects. The day-to-day management of finances is the responsibility of the Development Manager assisted by a bookkeeper. Mid-way through the year, we took on direct responsibility for processing payroll, integrating it as part of our internal accounting system. The Development Manager is responsible for assisting staff to manage their priorities for activity. The Board has set authority limits on incurring new expenditure, and has agreed a set of financial protocols.
The staff of FCCT all work part-time. They consist of a Development Manager, Volunteer Development Officer, Marketing and Communications Officer, Network Development Officer and Project Support Officer.
The staff are supported by Sessional and Freelance Skippers for the Lochrin Belle (currently 8 people on our books) plus two Freelancers – Susanne Mueller and Hannah Brazil - who help to deliver our greenspace and wellbeing projects and activities.
Sadly, in November 2024, we were faced with the situation of making our Project Support Officer redundant. At our mid-year financial meeting, we took stock of the fact that we had not, as yet, met the fundraising and sales target set in our 2024/5 budget in April that would see the organisation break even at the year end. Losing this post was deemed to have the least impact on our ability to operate and fulfil our commercial and community obligations and targets. Attempts to fundraise to sustain this post had also been unsuccessful.
Induction and training of Trustees
New Board members receive a full induction of the key governance documents and other useful documents based on OSCR guidelines. The Development Manager offers Trustees information periodically about training and networking events.
Remuneration policy
The directors consider the board of directors, who are the Trust’s trustees, and the senior management team comprise the key management personnel of the charity in charge of directing and controlling, running and operating the Trust on a day to day basis. All directors give of their time freely and one director received remuneration in the year for a specific function. Details of directors’ expenses are disclosed in the notes to the accounts.
The pay of the senior staff is reviewed annually and normally increased in accordance with average earnings. In view of the nature of the charity, the directors benchmark against pay levels in other social enterprises of a similar size. The remuneration benchmark is the mid-point of the range paid for similar roles adjusted for a weighting of up to 30% for any additional responsibilities. If recruitment has proven difficult in the recent past a market addition is also paid with the pay maximum no greater than the highest benchmarked salary for a comparable role.
Related parties
One of our trustees (S Durie) received remuneration for bookkeeping and financial services during the year. Patrick Robertshaw also received a fee for designing some professional signage materials for the Edinburgh Canal Festival. These arrangements were both agreed and approved by the Board and in compliance with our Memorandum and Articles of Association.
Any conflict of interest must be disclosed to the full board of trustees. In the current year no other such related party transactions were reported.
The Trustees, who are also the directors of Fountainbridge Canalside Community Trust for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company Law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.
In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
AAB continued to act for Fountainbridge Canalside Community Trust and are eligible for reappointment at the charitable company’s AGM.
The Trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
I report on the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2025, which are set out on pages 11 to 24.
The charity’s Trustees, who are also the directors of Fountainbridge Canalside Community Trust for the purposes of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investments (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). The Trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(1)(a) to (c) of the 2006 Accounts Regulations does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the financial statements as required under section 44(1)(c) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
My examination is carried out in accordance with Regulation 11 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the financial statements presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the financial statements, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the financial statements.
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
to keep accounting records in accordance with section 44(1) (a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations; and
to prepare financial statements which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 8 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations;
to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Fountainbridge Canalside Community Trust is a private company limited by guarantee with charitable status incorporated in Scotland. The registered office is C/O Scottish Waterways, 23 Lower Gilmore Place, Edinburgh, EH3 9NY.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance 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)” (second edition - October 2019) (effective as of 1 January 2019). The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, modified to include certain financial instruments at fair value.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the Trustees have reviewed the future funding and activities of the charity. The charity has a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the Trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.
Designated funds comprise funds which have been set aside at the discretion of the Trustees for specific purposes. The purposes and uses of the designated funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors or grantors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.
Donations and grants
Donations and grants are included in the year in which they are receivable, which is when the charity becomes entitled to the resource and receipt is probable.
Income from charitable activities
Income from charitable activities includes income from activities or where entitlement is subject to specific performance conditions is recognised as earned (as the related service is provided).
Investment income
Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the Bank.
All expenditure is included on an accruals basis and is recognised when there is a legal or constructive obligation to pay for expenditure. All costs have been directly attributed to one of the functional categories of resources expended in the Statement of Financial Activities, the charity is not registered for VAT and accordingly expenditure is shown gross.
Costs of raising funds are costs incurred in attracting voluntary income, and those incurred in activities that raise funds.
Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.
Support costs are those costs incurred directly in support of expenditure on the objects of the Charity. Governance costs are those incurred in connection with administration of the Charity and compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements.
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.
At each reporting period end date, the company reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible and intangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. Any impairment loss is recognised immediately in profit or loss.
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
None of the Trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year, with the exception of those disclosed as related party transactions.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The charity considers its key management personnel to consist of its trustees and senior management team. The total key management personnel remuneration (including pension contributions) was £27,773 (2024: £26,450).
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
Deferred income is included in the financial statements as follows:
The long term loans were secured by a charge over all the assets of the company. This security was discharged in August 2024.
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
The board has agreed to set aside money to be used as a replacement fund for the Lochrin Belle, which is nearing the end of her life as a trip boat, as well as smaller IT and other equipment. £1,000 has now been spent as a deposit on a build slot for the new replacement for Lochrin Belle.
The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used.
DTAS Greenshoots programme
£5,000 for support for design and fit out of new premises for FTTC. Paid for Building Warrant fees. Deficit of £513 incurred on BW fees.
DTAS Electric boat fund
Works completed in 2024 – 2025, to support the development of an electric boat for FCCT.
Heritage Lottery Fund
3 year grant to support a partnership programme of canal events, volunteer activities to conserve the canal environment, local history and theatrical performances and dissemination to the public of canal-related activity. Awarded £67,878 in first year.
Festival
Funds donated towards the costs of running the Edinburgh Canal Festival in June 2025.
Women’s Fund for Scotland
Engaging women in greenspace activities to improve their well-being. FCCT lost their main sessional worker for this project, so the Scottish Government agreed a carry forward of the full £5,000 grant to 2024-2025. £2,973.61 only was spent due to delay with the project, but FCCT was authorised to carry forward £2,973.61 in reserves to be spent in 2025-2026.
Walks for Well-being
Fund to support walking group activities along the canal.
Action Earth
Fund was spent fully in the year. No carry forward.
For small materials for gardening/greenspace activities.
City of Edinburgh Council Events Fund
Funding from CEC’s Community Grants Fund for mixed programme of events, in relation to Edinburgh 900 celebrations programme. £4,862.50 awarded. £1,762.24 carried forward in reserves. This was agreed as a programme of events had been planned for summer of 2025.
CEC SWAP events project
Mixed promotion and delivery of events. £2,000 awarded and the grant was fully spent.
CEC SWAP gardening project
No carry forward – funds all spent in 2023/2024 year
Awards for All no 2
Second grant awarded to support canalside walks programme.
£9,371 awarded and paid in 2023-2024 year. £1,878 was used to cover expenses in that year. £7,583.98 was carried forward in reserve for 2024-2025.
University of Edinburgh Innovation Fund.
Programme of volunteer support, greenspace activities and creative activities on boats to improve mental well-being in the community. Awarded £14,787 for June 24 to June 2025. £4,655.94 carried forward in reserves.
EVOC mental health and well-being grant no 2.
Grant to promote the mental health and well-being of participants in various programmes. Awarded
£10,730, paid in 2023-2024 but not utilised. £10,730 carried forward in reserves.
The Longstone Trust (managed by Foundation Scotland).
Grant towards the cost of the greenspace project in 2025-2026. Awarded £5,000, paid in 2024-2025 but not utilised. £5,000 carried forward in reserves.
During the year the charity retained the services of Haldane Associates, the trading name for professional bookkeeping and financial services offered by Trustee, Ms S Durie. During the period a total of £4,592 (2024: £4,035) was paid to Haldane Associates for work undertaken.