THE COTSWOLD CANALS TRUST

Registered charity 269721 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · Wikidata: Q5175474 · Wikipedia · also known as COTSWOLD CANALS TRUST, STROUDWATER, THAMES AND THE SEVERN CANAL TRUST LIMITED, THE STROUDWATER, THAMES AND SEVERN CANAL TRUST LIMITED

1. To promote for the benefit of the community the reopening of the Cotswold Canals.2. To promote the restoration of the two waterways to give a balance between the needs of navigation, development, recreation, heritage, landscape conservation, wildlife and natural habitats.3. To promote the use of all the towpath as the Thames and Severn Way.

Objects

THE OBJECTS FOR WHICH THE TRUST IS ESTABLISHED ARE:(A) THE PRESERVATION, MAINTENANCE IN GOOD ORDER AND IMPROVEMENT OF CANALS, NAVIGABLE RIVERS AND INLAND WATERWAYS (HEREINAFTER CALLED “NAVIGATIONS”) FOR THE USE OF THE PUBLIC.(B) TO PROMOTE THE USE OF THE NAVIGATIONS FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC. (C) TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC IN THE HISTORY, USE OF AND WILDLIFE ASSOCIATED WITH THE NAVIGATIONS.(D) TO PROVIDE RECREATIONAL AND LEISURE TIME ACTIVITIES ON THE NAVIGATION (& CONNECTED WATERWAYS AND TOWPATHS) IN THE INTERESTS OF SOCIAL WELFARE FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NEED, FOR EXAMPLE BY REASON OF THEIR YOUTH, AGE, INFIRMITY OR DISABILITY, POVERTY OR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES WITH A VIEW TO IMPROVING THE CONDITIONS OF LIFE OF SUCH PERSONS.(E) TO FURTHER FOR PUBLIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFIT, THE ENHANCEMENT OF THE NATURAL FEATURES AND WILDLIFE HABITATS OF THE NAVIGATIONS LANDSCAPE.(F) TO FURTHER ANY PURPOSE WHICH IS EXCLUSIVELY CHARITABLE UNDER THE LAW OF ENGLAND AND WALES CONNECTED WITH THE NAVIGATIONS.?

Area of benefit: NOT DEFINED

The charity’s charitable objects and area of benefit, quoted from its governing document as held on the Charity Commission register.

Causes: Environment/conservation/heritage · Economic/community Development/employment · Recreation · website · Get email alerts

Registered contact address: Stroud, South West, England (from the postcode on the register)

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that unrestricted reserves stood at £1,636,375, significantly exceeding the trustees' stated policy target of £200,000. The charity reported a net increase in funds of £123,201 for the year, driven by increased legacy income and dividends from its trading subsidiary. The independent auditors confirmed that the use of the going concern basis of accounting was appropriate with no material uncertainties identified.

Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Accounts audited by Randall & Payne LLP. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.

Policies the charity declares

In its annual return the charity told the Commission that it has the policies listed below. This is self-declared: it is not verified by the Commission or by this site, and it is not evidence of how a policy works in practice.

• Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
• Complaints policy and procedures
• Conflicting interests
• Financial reserves policy and procedures
• Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
• Internal risk management policy and procedures
• Investing charity funds policy and procedures
• Paying staff
• Risk management
• Safeguarding policy and procedures
• Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
• Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
• Social media policy and procedures
• Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
• Trustee expenses policy and procedures
• Volunteer management

From the charity’s annual return (Part A, self-declared)

Answers and figures the charity gave in Part A of its annual return to the Charity Commission. They are self-declared: not verified by the Commission or by this site. Only positive answers and figures are listed; items not listed are simply not shown.

Source: this charity’s annual returns on the Charity Commission register.

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Cotswold Canals Trust (matched by registered charity number).

Property (HM Land Registry)

5 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (5 freehold); recorded price paid £230k. All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/03/2025)

Reported reserves equal ~3.6 months of spending — below the median for charities its size (median 5.2 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 3.0% of total income — below the median for charities its size (4.9%) (benchmarks).

Register events

• Received assets from another charity (14/09/2020) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.

Trustees · trustee networks

• David Haggchair
• Caroline Kendall · trustee of 1 other charity
• Daniel Mobley
• David Geoffrey Higgs
• Douglas John Looman
• James Trumper · trustee of 1 other charity
• John Allan
• John Newton
• Matthew Duncan Lee · trustee of 1 other charity
• Nicholas Rowson · trustee of 1 other charity
• STEPHEN JOHN PICKOVER

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

Operates in: Gloucestershire · Wiltshire

Income and spending

Common questions

Known funders

Grants to this charity found in funders’ own accounts filings.

Government & lottery funding

Grants to this charity published as open data by government and lottery funders (360Giving).

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.

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with COTSWOLDS RIVERS TRUST.

• COTSWOLDS RIVERS TRUST income £47k
• THE CHESTERFIELD CANAL TRUST LIMITED income £1.0m
• CANAL MUSEUM TRUST income £288k
• THE RIVERS TRUST income £10.5m
• WILTS & BERKS CANAL TRUST income £347k
• THE WEY AND ARUN CANAL TRUST LIMITED income £816k

Side by side with its peers

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