2019-2020 annual report Thank you Contents The following organisations supported the Thank You ............................2 work of the Trust during 2019-20 either Contents ..............................3 Welcome ..............................5 through a grant award, sponsorship or Introduction .........................6 Who we are .........................9 providing in-kind support Highlights ............................10 Results at a Glance .............11 Meeting our Objectives .......13 Inclusion ..............................14-27 Development .......................28-39 The following organisations Forestry Commission (now National Film & Sound Archive Awards .................................40-41 supported the work of the Trust known as Forestry and Land of Australia Partnerships ........................42-45 during 2019-2020: Scotland) National Lottery Heritage Fund: Action Earth Forth Rivers Trust Great Place and Rediscovering Governance .........................46 Agnes Watt Trust Fund Friends of Kinneil the Antonine Wall Financial Performance .........47 Barony Players Goethe Institute Glasgow NLS Moving Image Archive Accounts .............................48 Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway Grid Iron Regional Improvement Trading .................................49 Collaborative Bo’ness Community Bus Historic Environment Scotland Our Venues & Services ........50-51 Richmond Park Hotel British Association for American Hobart Charitable Trust Studies Royal Scottish Country Dance Independent Cinema Office Society - Falkirk Branch Central Scotland Green INDY Cinema Network Trust San Francisco Silent Film Inner Forth Futures Fund Festival Coach Academy Italian Cultural Institute of Scottish Canals Community Schools 2008 Edinburgh Charity Scottish Book Trust LEADER Confucius Institute for Scotland Scottish Government The European Agricultural Fund Scottish Music Centre Corbie Inn for Rural Development: Europe Creative Scotland Investing in rural areas, through Screen Scotland EB Scotland funds distributed LEADER Kelvin Valley and Stenhousemuir Gymnastics Club by Falkirk Environment Trust Falkirk LAG. Tesco EventScotland London Australian Film Festival The MacRobert Trust Falkirk Delivers McCorquodale Charitable Trust Tryst Gymnastics Club Falkirk Environment Trust Museums Galleries Scotland University of Glasgow Falkirk Council National Film and Sound Archive VisitFalkirk Australia Film Archives UK (FAUK) Yorkshire Silent Film Festival Falkirk Community Trust National Lottery Community Suite 1A, The Falkirk Stadium, 4 Stadium Way, Falkirk FK2 9EE Film Hub Midlands Fund Young Start T: 01324 590900 | E: [email protected] | www.falkirkcommunitytrust.org Film Hub Scotland …and generous donations from Registered Charity No. SC042403 | Falkirk Community Trust is limited by Guarantee | Company Registered in Scotland no. 400657 the public Falkirk Community Trust gratefully acknowledges the support of Falkirk Council. Front cover picture of The Forestry Improvement Plan at Callendar Park. | 2 | | 3 | Wel come Nothing could have prepared us for how the Our services financial year was to end in March 2020. The closure of all our venues on 18 March 2020 as the whole country went into lockdown has been the toughest time we have faced as an organisation, but have been vital it has also brought out the very best in our people. We have remained focused on our core objectives as a result. Our commitment to delivering excellent and stayed true to our vision and mission, and I customer service has seen improved quality cannot praise the staff, management team and assurance grading for our leisure and sports facilities, Board highly enough. Their dedication and energy as well as increased use and increased revenue. in responding quickly and decisively to a continually We’ve invested in play facilities, heritage in contributing evolving situation has been commendable and development and inclusion projects that empower inspirational. and enable people in our community. Our volunteers Our teams have gone the extra mile for our and our services have achieved recognition in community; adapting and innovating to remain multiple awards and competitions, and our approach connected and supportive of each other, our to partnership working has helped secure new communities and our wider stakeholders in this new, resources, such as a grant to help us catalogue and towards the distanced world. make publicly accessible the historically significant The role we play in our community was amplified archive collection of Falkirk Football Club. during lockdown, as we adapted swiftly to provide My sincere thanks go to our staff, volunteers and virtual alternatives to valuable services. From funding partners for their hard work, enthusiasm online fitness classes to mental health advice and and support over the past year. In particular, I would library access, the services we provided during also like to express my gratitude to Jane Clark, the lockdown were well received and considered a who retired from her post as Policy Development positive wellbeing lifeline for some of the most vulnerable people in our Manager in March, after 36 years of service. community. Jane had a crucial role in the development of our Throughout this crisis, the public parks managed by five-year business plan, and her dedication and the Trust - Callendar Park, The Helix Park, Kinneil professionalism helped the Trust go from strength to Estate and Muiravonside Country Park – have been strength. essential places for local people to enjoy and boost As we enter a year of considerable uncertainty, I have their wellbeing. I’d like to take this opportunity to the utmost confidence in our Board, management of our thank Falkirk Council for their ongoing support team, staff and partners to steer us through the across the year and in particular for their financial considerable challenges that lie ahead. support during the Covid 19 crisis. While the pandemic has dominated 2020, we must David White not let it cast a shadow over the achievements of Chairman the Trust earlier in the financial year – there were many successes in which we should all take great community pride. Our libraries have embraced the digital age, Photograph by Lesley Martin | www.lesleymartin.co.uk and there’s been record demand for library services | 4 | | 5 | Introd uction This has been an extraordinarily challenging year, but it’s also a year in which Falkirk Community Trust This year we has delivered against all its objectives and achieved great strides forward in our performance as an organisation, and in our ongoing development in meeting the needs of our local community. have been Ensuring Financial Viability Meeting Customer Needs I am pleased to report that we continued to achieve We continue to invest in new technology and visits healthy growth in customer income, increasing by to our website, launched in June 2019, have grown 5.5% to £8,210,882 on the previous year. Our Health steadily. In September, we launched a stand-alone and Fitness portfolio accounted for £1.84m in income Helix website to take into account the specific needs in the year 2019-20, which was the best performance of the domestic and international tourism market. We ever, up 14% and, before lockdown, membership was continue to embrace the benefits of new technology, delighted to up to a record 6,428. including our new easy to use online ticketing system With financial sustainability a key objective for the Spektrix, which is helping us target our cultural Trust, we continued to increase our income through programmes more precisely. fundraising and securing grants for innovative new In meeting the longer-term needs of people and projects and services. From securing funding for new places, I will continue to work with Falkirk Council infrared receivers to aid partially-sighted Hippodrome on the Strategic Property Review (SPR) to ensure customers to longer-term work such as the play area that our services are fit for purpose now and into the be shortlisted at Callendar Park, the Trust continues to work hard in future. securing resources for the people in our community COVID-19 and Lockdown and the properties in our care. Finally, to conclude my welcome to the 2019- In early 2020, and thanks to investment from Falkirk 20 annual report, I wish to place on record how Council, we were proud to open the doors to an immensely proud I am following our response and exciting new phase for the Mariner Leisure Centre. The ongoing work concerning the impact of COVID-19. £1.2m refurbishment of the new Health and Fitness Throughout this crisis, the Board, management team, for several centre forms an integral part of our business growth staff and volunteers have been actively living our plans. I am delighted to report that we have already values daily. seen the number of admissions to the centre increase We acted quickly to a rapidly changing and substantially, up 29% on last year to almost 250,000, unprecedented situation over which we had no which is the centre’s best performance since 2011. control. Our community embraced our online service Leadership and Community Development provision enthusiastically, and the digitisation of our Capacity services provided an essential connection during what prestigious This year we have been delighted to be shortlisted for was, for many people, a lonely and isolating period several prestigious awards which is a testament to of lockdown. Throughout this time we listened, we the hard work of our teams. Our fantastic