National Trust Annual Report 2013/14 The National Trust in brief What is the National Trust? We are a charity founded in 1895 by three people who saw the importance of our nation’s heritage and open spaces, and wanted to protect them for everyone to enjoy. More than 115 years later, these values are still at the heart of everything we do. We look after special places throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland for ever, for everyone. We look after coastline, forests, woods, fens, beaches, farmland, moorland, islands, archaeological remains, nature reserves, villages, historic houses, gardens, mills and pubs. We restore them, protect them and open them up to everyone. For the Trust, conservation has always gone hand-in-hand with public access. We welcome everyone to explore: • 742 miles of coastline • Over 247,000 hectares of land • Over 350 historic houses, gardens and parks, ancient monuments and nature reserves Many of our properties are unable to fund their own permanent preservation. The cost of caring for them is high: our property project expenditure was £91.3 million in 2013/14. Most of our property is held inalienably, so it can never be sold or developed against our wishes without the consent of Parliament. We rely on the support of our members, donors and volunteers, as well as income from grant making bodies and commercial activities such as retail and catering, to look after the special places in our care. The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest and Natural Beauty is a registered charity (no. 205846). It is incorporated and has powers conferred on it by Parliament through the National Trust Acts 1907 to 1971 and under the Charities (National Trust) Order 2005. Since 1 September 2005 the Trust has been governed by a Board of Trustees whose composition appears on page 62. A brief description of the Trust’s organisation is given on pages 20 to 23. Our bankers, investment managers and auditors are identified on page 59, and the contact details for our principal offices are listed on page 88. This Annual Report has been prepared by the Board of Trustees and covers the period 1 March 2013 to 28 February 2014. Contents Message from the Chairman 2 Message from the Director-General 3 Board of Trustees’ report for 2013/14 4 Highlights of the year 5 Our strategy 8 Engaging our supporters 10 Improving conservation and environmental performance 12 Investing in our people 14 Our plans to 2014/15 15 Financial review 16 Administration and management 20 Structure and internal control 20 Thanks 25 Annual Report of the Council 2013/14 26 The Financial Statements 2013/14 29 Consolidated statement of financial activities 29 Balance sheets 30 Consolidated cash flow statement 31 Notes to the Financial Statements 32 Independent Auditors’ Report to the Trustees of the National Trust 57 The Trust’s advisers 59 Glossary of financial, property and fund terms 60 Net Gain 61 Governance of the National Trust 62 Membership of the Board of Trustees, the Council, Committees 62 and Executive Team 2013 Annual General Meeting 65 Year on record 67 Places, works of art and other objects acquired 67 Visiting figures 70 Retirements 71 Awards 72 Obituaries 73 The Royal Oak Foundation 74 Gifts and donations 75 Supporter groups 77 Legacies 79 Contact details 88 National Trust Annual Report 2013/14 Contents 1 Message from the Chairman 2013/14 was a strong year for the National Trust. There were almost 20 million visits to our pay-for-entry properties, 5% up on 2012/13, and surveys show our visitors found their visits more enjoyable. We met demanding financial targets and continued our programme of capital investment which will reduce the backlog of our conservation work, core to our historic mission. Part of our success in 2013/14 was attributable to extended 2014 is my last year as Chairman. I have enjoyed, learned from, and opening. Many properties now open 363 days a year. More will do been honoured to hold this office. I have visited properties all over so in future. Properties are also better at programming events such the country and can testify to the Trust’s range and commitment. as the Frost Fair at Attingham Park in Shropshire. Generally there is It has been a humbling experience. I would like to thank staff, something happening at properties all year round. volunteers, donors, members and other supporters for all they do. I remain aware of tough times ahead, both competition from other Highlights of 2013/14 included the purchase of Fingle Woods in visitor attractions and threats to the landscape from unsympathetic Devon in partnership with the Woodland Trust, which will be development. They leave me more convinced than ever of the restored and made accessible to the public for the first time. At the importance of the National Trust to British society, and equally sure Holnicote Estate in Somerset a project started looking at how we that the Trust is in good shape to live up to that importance. can achieve a sustainable approach to flood management. Cliveden in Buckinghamshire welcomed 70,000 more visitors, many of whom enjoyed the temporary instalment of a seven-metre slide on the South Terrace, a great attraction for all ages. Our Millar opening of the Big Brother house for a weekend proved admirably John controversial, but helped communicate our existence and work to a © wider audience. We were not successful on all fronts. We missed our energy Photography reduction targets. We will look at how to improve our performance. The end of 2013/14 will be remembered for storms and flooding. For years the Trust has pointed to the dangers of over-development and inappropriate farming, especially of uplands and catchment Simon Jenkins areas. We need to work in harmony with nature in responding to Chairman changes in weather. 16 July 2014 We have continued to speak out on changes to planning laws and guidance. Our countryside and green belt is under sustained threat from inappropriate and ill-conceived development. We have engaged with Government on this, be it about planning in general or specific proposals such as High Speed 2. We regard the destruction of our landscape and biodiversity as the main conservation threat facing these islands. 2 Message from the Chairman Message from the Director-General My first full year as Director-General has been enjoyable and inspiring. With my team I held discussions with the Board about our future direction and started much-needed work to improve how we communicate with our members, simplify our internal systems and improve the condition of our estate. Most importantly I saw at first hand the commitment of staff, volunteers, donors and visitors to the wonderful places in our care. Growing the nation’s love of those special places is at the heart of what we do. It was a wonderful year. I took the helm of a successful organisation, success which We began a debate in 2013/14 about our future direction. continued in 2013/14 despite the terrible winter weather. My There is an abundance of evidence to demonstrate that land thanks go to everyone who made it so, particularly the unsung and biodiversity should be major conservation priorities. I am heroes among our staff and volunteers who did so much in the also clear that we need to present and explain our historic wet and stormy months. buildings in a way that engages visitors of all kinds, and reinforces the importance of their history in the lives we live today. We As I’ve been out and about this year, talking to staff, volunteers are defining our ambitions in these areas which will form a and supporters, I have emphasised that the Trust’s purpose is a cornerstone of our future strategy, one which will be defined virtuous circle – we look after special places, supporters benefit clearly in 2014/15. from that and their support allows us to keep on looking after places. It’s simple but works. With this in mind, the key was to The National Trust ended 2013/14 in a position of strength. identify our priorities. I reiterate my thanks to everyone who helped make this so. Beyond this success the year demonstrated that the nation’s Every year we do more to look after special places. In 2013/14 conservation challenges and the need for leadership continue we continued our programme of investment in capital works. to grow. The National Trust is rising to those challenges as it has Among others these included multi-million pound investments done for over 115 years. at Knole in Kent and Castle Drogo in Devon. As importantly the Board agreed a programme of major investment in our let estate, our 5,000-plus tenanted properties. All these investments reflect a determination to deliver excellent property stewardship, providing leadership in the areas for which we are rightly known. We also began a programme of major investments in our internal systems. We are bringing our processes into the twenty-first century with projects that will improve our membership systems and digital communications, our tills and our finance Levenson © David Photography systems. Together these represent significant change for staff and volunteers but a change which will improve the service we provide. The Board was closely involved in developing the business cases and implementation plans. I am grateful for Trustees’ support. Dame Helen Ghosh Director-General 16 July 2014 National Trust Annual Report 2013/14 Message from the Director-General 3 Board of Trustees’ report for 2013/14 Our Annual Report describes our performance over the past year across a wide range of activities.