Design West
Design West inspire the public, politicians & professionals to design better, healthier places to live work & relax. Placemaking brings people together across sector & society to co-design & vision great places. We convene independent Design & Policy Review services. Our Public Programmes inform & involve people in our built environment. We develop diverse talent through Education & Skills work.
Objects
TO ADVANCE EDUCATION AND RESEARCH INAND FOSTER PUBLIC APPRECIATION OF ARCHITECTURE OAND ITS RELATED DISCIPLINES.
Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts
The accounts state that the charity ended the year in a sound financial position with a consolidated surplus of £9,850 and total funds of £1,264,762. The trustees report a responsible reserves position, with unrestricted free cash reserves of £314,656, which is below their stated policy target of six months' expenditure (£330,000). The charity operates a trading subsidiary that broke even for the first time, contributing to the overall financial stability.
What the accounts disclose
“No employee earned more than £60,000 during the current or prior year.” — page 31
“the Trustees agree that in order to weather variations in cash flow our free reserves should reach six months expenditure (£330,000) as a general reserve.” — page 15
“During the year, C Kwiatkowski, trustee, was paid for design services by the charity totalling £2,350 (2024: £2,009). No amounts were outstanding at year end.” — page 39
“At 31 March 2025, Design West Trading Limited owed Design West £45,282 (2024: £48,762).” — page 39
“During the year, C Kwiatkowski, trustee, was paid for design services by the charity totalling £2,350 (2024: £2,009). No amounts were outstanding at year end.” — page 39
“At 31 March 2025, Design West Trading Limited owed Design West £45,282 (2024: £48,762).” — page 39
“The charity has one wholly owned subsidiary, Design West Trading Ltd, (registered company number 14049103). The subsidiary is used for non-primary purpose trading activities.” — page 24
Policies the charity declares
- Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
- Campaigns and political activity policy and procedures
- Complaints handling
- 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
Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/03/2025)
Trustees
- Nicholas Stuart Fairhamchair
- Cora Kwiatkowski
- Coralie Mckeivor
- David Waterhouse
- Gavin Rhys Eddy
- Stephen James Hilton
Income and spending
| Financial year end | Income | Spending |
|---|---|---|
| 31/03/2025 | £998k | £988k |
| 31/03/2024 | £1.1m | £1.0m |
| 31/03/2023 | £1.1m | £983k |
| 31/03/2022 | £825k | £831k |
| 31/03/2021 | £588k | £440k |
Common questions
Is Design West financially healthy?
Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity ended the year in a sound financial position with a consolidated surplus of £9,850 and total funds of £1,264,762. The trustees report a responsible reserves position, with unrestricted free cash reserves of £314,656, which is below their stated policy target of six months' expenditure (£330,000). The charity operates a trading subsidiary that broke even for the first time, contributing to the overall financial stability. Its FY2025 accounts were independently examined.
What does the highest-paid employee of Design West earn?
Per its FY2025 accounts, the highest-paid employee was in the Under £60,000 band.
Government & lottery funding
| Funder | Date | Amount | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| The National Lottery Heritage Fund | 23/02/2021 | £50k | "NL20: Unlocking Resilience" |
| The National Lottery Heritage Fund | 04/11/2015 | £56k | "Opening Doors to Heritage: Expanding and developing BristolÂ’s ‘Doors OpenÂ’ offer to maximise impact" |
| The National Lottery Community Fund | 06/05/2015 | £5k | My Green City: a learning and participation project engaging children, |
| The National Lottery Heritage Fund | 10/05/2011 | £33k | "Bristol: Opening Doors" |
| The National Lottery Heritage Fund | 22/06/2007 | £10k | "Sweet History?" |
Funders of similar charities
| Funder | Similar charities funded | Amount to them |
|---|---|---|
| THE REED FOUNDATION | 1 | — |
| GUY'S AND ST THOMAS' FOUNDATION | 1 | £630k |
| THE BRIAN MITCHELL CHARITABLE SETTLEMENT | 1 | £475k |
| THE EDWARD GOSTLING FOUNDATION | 1 | £420k |
| TRUST FOR LONDON | 1 | £249k |
| THE CALLEVA FOUNDATION | 1 | £222k |
| MOTABILITY | 1 | £178k |
| THE MEDLOCK CHARITABLE TRUST | 1 | £160k |
Charities like this
- DESIGN MIDLANDS LIMITED
- DESIGN COUNCIL
- TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ASSOCIATION
- DESIGNABILITY CHARITY LIMITED
- THEATRE DESIGN COURSE LIMITED
- Open City
Side by side with its peers
| Charity | Income | Top pay band | Staff >£60k | Reserves vs policy | Fundraising cost | Going concern |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design West | £998k | Under £60,000 | 0 | unclear | — | no doubt |
| DESIGN MIDLANDS LIMITED | £300k | — | 0 | above | — | no doubt |
| DESIGN COUNCIL | £3.7m | — | — | above | — | no doubt |
| TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ASSOCIATION | £2.2m | £80,001 - £90,000 | 1 | above | — | no doubt |
| DESIGNABILITY CHARITY LIMITED | £1.9m | — | — | above | — | no doubt |
| THEATRE DESIGN COURSE LIMITED | £100k | — | 0 | below | — | no doubt |