Annual Report 2024

Annual Report  

Covering the period 1 April 2024 to 31 Dec 2024  

 

1. Introduction 

Wellbeing in the Weald was established to provide inclusive activities and initiatives in our rural community 

so that people, including those who may be isolated, can make connections and benefit from improved 

health and wellbeing. We aim to organise new and promote existing wellbeing activities, including 

community walks, weekly drop ins, volunteering and other social activities that bring people together on a regular basis. 

 

We work with local GPs, social prescribers and schools to ensure that our activities and initiatives are 

relevant for our community and cooperate with other organisations (such as charities that do not currently 

have activities in our community) to facilitate local delivery of their activities. 

 

Our registration as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation was completed on 24 June 2020, under 

Registered Charity Number 1190083, with the following Objects set out in our Constitution dated 10 June 2020: 

 

(1) To preserve and protect the health of people living in Cranbrook and the surrounding areas by 

providing and assisting in the provision of facilities, support services and practical advice not 

normally provided by the statutory authorities. 

 

(2) To promote social inclusion for the public benefit by preventing or assisting in the prevention of 

people living in Cranbrook and the surrounding areas from becoming socially excluded, relieving the 

needs of those who are socially excluded and assisting them to integrate into society. 

 

For the purpose of this clause ‘socially excluded’ means being excluded from society, or parts of society, as a 

result of one or more of the following factors: unemployment; financial hardship; youth or old age; ill health 

(physical or mental); substance abuse or dependency including alcohol and drugs; discrimination on the 

grounds of sex, race, disability, ethnic origin, religion, belief, creed, sexual orientation or gender 

reassignment; poor educational or skill attainment; relationship and family breakdown; poor housing; crime 

(either as a victim of crime or as an offender rehabilitating into society). 

 

This Annual Report covers a period of nine months, as we have changed our financial year to align with the calendar year. Future reports will be on a calendar year basis. 

 

2. Trustees 

During this reporting period the following people acted as trustees of Wellbeing in the Weald: 

 

Name Date appointed* Date demitted  

Dineli Charlesworth 05/04/2019 - 

Mark Lawrence 05/04/2019 - 

Deborah Jones 11/06/2019 - 

Naomi Rosling 02/07/2019   30/4/2024 

Andrew Chandler 06/08/2019 - 

Peter Simpson 24/10/2022 - 

Laura Wade 24/04/2023 - 

Seamus O’Brien 24/04/2023 -  

 

* Where the appointment dates stated above pre-date our registration as a Charity, they are the dates from which trustees started as committee members of Wellbeing in the Weald, when it was an unincorporated association. 

In accordance with our Constitution, there must always be a minimum of three trustees. Trustees are 

volunteers, who are appointed by the Board of Trustees with regard to their skills, to support the effective 

administration of the Charity. 

  

3. Activities for the public benefit  

The trustees have had due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Charities Commission.  

During April 2024 – Dec 2024, we were delighted to continue so many of our activities. In the post Covid period our communities continue to experience long-term mental health impacts from the lockdowns, which adversely affect collective wellbeing. In response, we have introduced several new activities specifically aimed at groups identified as being particularly at risk of isolation or exclusion. Over time a number of these activities have become embedded within the community. We are supported by figures such as the Tunbridge Wells Mayor and the High Sheriff of Kent and were fortunate to be one of only five recipients of the High Sheriff Awards in 2025. 

WITW remains responsive to local changes—such as the closure of the local secondary school- and continues to research possible new activities which will broaden our reach and impact. 

The following table summarises our key activities to provide a public benefit during this reporting period:  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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​​​​​​We would again like to thank all of our volunteers, committee members / trustees and our administrators, who have devoted so much of their time and effort to organise, lead and support our activities and to help us in all aspects of operating the Charity.  

We would also like to thank:  

• St Dunstan’s Church for allowing us to use Church House and the Parish Church for the Drop-in.  

• Cranbrook School and their catering staff for allowing us to use their facilities for the Men’s Cookery. Thanks also to the sixth form pupils who have supported the Drop-in.  

• The mayor of TW Nancy Warne for choosing us for her charity of the year and attending so many of our events this year. 

• High Sheriff of Kent Dr Gill Fargher for attending our 5-year celebratory event. 

4. Plans for 2025  

4.1 Ongoing activities  

As circumstances and funds permit, we hope to continue to repeat many of the above activities and various other prior WITW activities for the community in general such as:  

• Fruit picking (see also Fruit pruning, picking and juice under Fundraising)  

• Plant SalesQuiz nights (see also under Fundraising)  

• Attendance at Community Events/ Fetes (see also under Fundraising) 

4.2 New activities  

For 2025 we have sought to identify who we are not currently reaching, to specifically target some of our new activities at harder to reach sections of our community. We have identified these target groups by reaching out to a number of people and organisations, such as the community wardens, GP’s and social prescribers, who have all given their feedback on where they believe the most socially excluded people are.  

Who are our specific target groups for this year?  

• Males - teenage/younger men and those aged approximately 40+  

• Young parents, including teenagers.  

• Those living in our community’s more rural or isolated areas.  

• Those in local communities not yet served by our offer e.g. Staplehurst.  

• Young people who have been left behind as their peers move on to university/work etc 

• Young people who lack community after local secondary school closure 

Planned new activities focussed on our target groups  

Several of our recently started activities are focused on these target groups and we plan to continue with these. Further new activities will be considered as appropriate, as circumstances and funds permit. We will wherever possible seek grant funding to at least partially cover the costs of any new activities during 2025. Additional fundraising or grants will be required for these activities to be sustained longer term. 

5. Fundraising  

5.1 How we have raised funds  

We would very much like to thank the Samphire Trust, Santander, Cranbrook School, Fierce Content, The Brook Trust Fund for Kent via Kent Community Foundation, Waitrose and private donors for the grants and donations received during this period. We did not run any fundraising appeals or campaigns.  

We would also like to thank the members of our community who, and other local organisations that, have made donations to support our work during this period.  

Fruit pruning, picking and juice.  

This annual report includes the continuing sales from the September/ October 2023 harvest, as well as the harvest and start of sales activity of pear and two apple orchards in 2024. 

The apple orchard we had previously picked in 2022 was removed, so the only apple juice we were able to sell was 40 bottles from Mr and Mrs Tucker’s orchard, which we used at the Christmas Market and sold out at our Nuts in May stall. Fortunately, we were offered access to two apple orchards for the autumn of 2024, and we picked plenty of apples - Worcester's from Goudhurst (144 bottles) and Braeburn from Cranbrook (326 bottles), which we will continue to sell into 2025. 

We were pleased with the results of our previous autumn/ winter pear tree pruning; there had been a lovely show of blossom but sadly, the best of the pears was picked a week before we planned to pick, by persons unknown. Consequently, we only managed one bin of pears/ 102 bottles, which sold out before Christmas 2023. 

We appreciate the support from the pear orchard owner Mr Lenox-Conyngham, as well as Mr and Mrs Walpole and Mr Levett for access to their apple orchards. Mr Levett has kindly offered to continue to help with the maintenance of the pear orchard in 2025.  

We could not do this activity without the support of a great team of fruit picking volunteers, together with the sterling work of Tony, who arranges the juicing, bottling and labels every bottle by hand, as well as supplying the local shops. Many thanks to local retailers including Cranbrook Farm Shop and Nursery, Wilkes Butchers, Benenden Community shop and the Welcome Store in Cranbrook; all who sell our juice.  

5.2 How we will continue to raise funds  

WITW aims to continue its successful fundraising ventures in 2025 including:  

• An evening fundraising event (quiz) 

• Raffle’s/tombola's  

• Fetes  

• Open gardens  

• Plant SalesCrafts & dog treats  

• Donations received  

• Grants received  

• Fruit picking parties and Juice Sales  

We also plan to raise funds via:  

• Online donations via Paypal Donate, Just Giving, TW Lotto, Easy Fundraising, Give as you Live, Neighbourly 

• Online donations via the website  

• Local supermarket donation / grant schemes  

• Craft workshop projects which ask for a suggested donation, or that the crafted item may be donated to WITW to sell to raise funds  

• Sale of jams and chutneys made for us by our volunteers using locally grown ingredients.  

• Targeting grants for specific projects  

• Asking for donations of items such as tools and land for projects.  

6. Financial Report  

The Trustees understand that they are responsible for preparing this Financial Report, for ensuring that it provides a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charity and for keeping proper accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Charity's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.  

The Board elected to change the financial year to coincide with the calendar year. As a result, the reporting period this document covers are shortened and only covers nine months. Next year's report will cover the whole of 2025.  

The trustees have set a reserves policy to cover 2 months of day to day running costs, in addition to committed costs for each year. The income of Wellbeing in the Weald is not at a level to require independent verification or audit of its financial statements. 

 

 

Approved by the Board of Trustees on 23/06/2025 and signed on its behalf by: 

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Andrew Chandler - Trustee, Chair Peter Simpson - Trustee, Treasurer