ROTHER VALLEY RAILWAY HERITAGE TRUST

Registered charity 1088452 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

RVRHT makes grants towards the reconstruction of the historic trackbed and structures on Col Stephens' Light Railway between Robertsbridge and Bodiam in Sussex

Causes: Education/training · Environment/conservation/heritage · website · Get email alerts

Latest income

£2.3m

Latest spending

£185k

Registered

2001

Accounts read

FY2024

Financial health, per its FY2024 accounts

The accounts state that the charity held unrestricted reserves of £3,189,756 and total reserves in excess of £9 million, with cash in excess of £3 million at year-end. The trustees confirmed adequate resources to continue operations through 2026, supported by pledged funding for ongoing reconstruction projects. No material uncertainties affecting going concern were identified by the independent auditors.

Automated summary of the FY2024 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Related-party transaction: Grants to subsidiary

“During the year Rother Valley Railway Heritage Trust gave grants to Rother Valley Railway Limited totalling £1,025,000 (2023 - £247,500) in relation to various construction projects on reconstruction of the Rother Valley Railway.” — page 32

“During the year rent of £1 (2023 - £1) was paid by Rother Valley Railway Limited to Rother Valley Railway Heritage Trust.” — page 32

Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Related-party transaction: Rent paid by subsidiary

“During the year Rother Valley Railway Heritage Trust gave grants to Rother Valley Railway Limited totalling £1,025,000 (2023 - £247,500) in relation to various construction projects on reconstruction of the Rother Valley Railway.” — page 32

“During the year rent of £1 (2023 - £1) was paid by Rother Valley Railway Limited to Rother Valley Railway Heritage Trust.” — page 32

Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Trading subsidiary: Rother Valley Railway Limited

“Rother Valley Railway Limited is a majority owned subsidiary of the charity that continues to act on the reconstruction of the Kent & East Sussex Railway” — page 4

Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Crowe U.K. LLP. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Rother Valley Railway (matched by registered charity number).

Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook · instagram

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/12/2024)

Total income

£2.3m

Total spending

£185k

Reserves (reported)

£3.2m

Employees

Reported reserves equal ~206.9 months of spending — in the top quarter for charities its size (median 4.8 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Donations and legacies (98% of income) — components as reported reconcile to the return’s total income; not from the accounts narrative.

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 0.0% of total income — below the median for charities its size (5.2%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

DAVID JOHN FELTON FCA
DAVID WILLIAM KEAY · trustee of 1 other charity
David James Slack · trustee of 2 other charities
Gardner Savill Crawley BSc, FICE · trustee of 2 other charities
Helen Caroline Douglas
MICHAEL CLIFFORD HART · trustee of 1 other charity
RICHARD MICHAEL ARBLASTER
Richard Broyd · trustee of 5 other charities
Stephen Murfitt

Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).

Operates in: East Sussex · Kent

Income and spending

Financial year end	Income	Spending
31/12/2024	£2.3m	£185k
31/12/2023	£2.2m	£160k
31/12/2022	£29k	£146k
31/12/2021	£940k	£128k
31/12/2020	£755k	£174k

Common questions

Is ROTHER VALLEY RAILWAY HERITAGE TRUST financially healthy?

Per its FY2024 accounts: The accounts state that the charity held unrestricted reserves of £3,189,756 and total reserves in excess of £9 million, with cash in excess of £3 million at year-end. The trustees confirmed adequate resources to continue operations through 2026, supported by pledged funding for ongoing reconstruction projects. No material uncertainties affecting going concern were identified by the independent auditors. Its FY2024 accounts were audited by Crowe U.K. LLP.

Funders of similar charities

Funders whose accounts show grants to charities similar to this one (and no recorded grant to this charity) — a starting list for fundraisers.

Funder	Similar charities funded	Amount to them
THE ROGER & DOUGLAS TURNER CHARITABLE TRUST	1	£68k
THE DERBYSHIRE ENVIRONMENTAL TRUST LIMITED	1	£21k
WILLIAM ADLINGTON CADBURY CHARITABLE TRUST	1	£20k
THE HILARY AWDRY CHARITABLE TRUST	1	£11k
THE GEORGE CADBURY TRUST (GEORGE HENRY T AND LAURENCE J CADBURY SECTIONS)	1	£9k
DR RADCLIFFE'S TRUST	1	£8k
THE MICHAEL MARSH CHARITABLE TRUST	1	£5k
THE GRIMMITT TRUST	1	£3k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with RAILWAY PATHS LIMITED.

RAILWAY PATHS LIMITED income £2.5m
VALE OF RHEIDOL RAILWAY LIMITED income £2.1m
RICHMONDSHIRE BUILDING PRESERVATION TRUST LTD income £2.2m
VINTAGE TRAINS CHARITABLE TRUST income £3.6m
Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway Supporters Association income £124k
OSWESTRY STATION BUILDING TRUST LIMITED income £337k

Side by side with its peers

Charity	Income	Top pay band	Staff >£60k	Reserves vs policy	Fundraising cost	Going concern
ROTHER VALLEY RAILWAY HERITAGE TRUST	£2.3m	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
RAILWAY PATHS LIMITED FY2025	£2.5m	£60,001 - £70,000	3	unclear	—	no doubt
VALE OF RHEIDOL RAILWAY LIMITED FY2024	£2.1m	—	—	unclear	—	no doubt
RICHMONDSHIRE BUILDING PRESERVATION TRUST LTD FY2025	£2.2m	—	0	above	—	no doubt
VINTAGE TRAINS CHARITABLE TRUST FY2025	£3.6m	—	—	below	—	no doubt
Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway Supporters Association FY2025	£124k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt

Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.