The Scottish Wild Land Group
A Registered Scottish Charity SC004014
Report and Accounts for the year to 31 March 2014
Address – c/o Tim Ambrose, Treasurer
8 Cleveden Road
Glasgow
G12 0NT
e-mail: enquiries@swlg.org.uk
website: www.swlg.org.uk
Campaigning for Scotland’s Wild Land
The Scottish Wild Land Group
Accounts and Report for the year ended 31 March 2014
The Scottish Wild Land Group is a Scottish Registered Charity, number SC004014. It is a
membership body, which welcomes new members who support Scotland’s wild land.
Charity Trustees
General control and management of the Scottish Wild Land Group resides with the Steering
Committee, the members of which are therefore the “charity trustees” for the purposes of The
Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005. They are elected annually by the
members in general meeting.
During the year to 31 March 2014, the Steering Committee comprised:
John Milne – Co-ordinator
Tim Ambrose – Treasurer
Grant Cornwallis – Membership Secretary
Dr Calum Brown – Editor, Wild Land News
Dr Ken Brown – (elected 23 November 2013)
George Charles
Dr Pete Ewing – (elected 23 November 2013)
Beryl Leatherland
Constitution
The Scottish Wild Land Group is an independent unincorporated association. Its purpose and
constitution are set out in a written document, a copy if which may be obtained from the
treasurer. The Group is a member of Scottish Environment LINK, an umbrella organisation for
Scottish environmental and conservation charities.
Recruitment of charity trustees
The trustees of the Scottish Wild Land Group comprise the Steering Committee which manages
the activities of the Group. The Committee welcomes communication from members and the
public. The Steering Committee is elected by members at the Annual General Meeting, to which
all members are invited, and welcomes nominations to join the Committee.
The purposes of the Scottish Wild Land Group
As set out in the Group’s constitution, the Group is a campaigning body, which aims to protect
and preserve Scotland’s wild land. It publishes Wild Land News, a magazine sent free to
members and to politicians and other decision makers to highlight issues threatening Scotland’s
wild land, and to generate discussion and educate the public on land conservation matters. The
Group encourages sound effective planning policies to protect and enhance wild land, and
supports those local communities that nurture good land management.
The Scottish Wild Land Group
Accounts and Report for the year ended 31 March 2014
Main activities and achievements during the year to 31 March 2014
Wind farms gone wild.
Our time was taken up during the first six months of the financial year in publishing and
distributing the Special Edition of Wild Land News Wind farms gone wild.
We printed 3000 copies and succeeded in distributing nearly all of these to
• Our members
• All MSPs, Scottish MPs and MEPs and a number of MPs from elsewhere in the UK who we
considered might be interested
• Other relevant associations and individuals with a particular interest in and commitment to the
protection of our countryside from inappropriate development
• Hotels, Guest Houses, B&B establishments, hostels and bunk houses in relevant areas
• Members of Local Authorities in some relevant areas.
Wind farms gone wild was also published and publicised on our website and achieved a wide
circulation.
The distribution throughout the early summer met with an immediately favourable response at
least from recipients sympathetic to our cause. Among the very first responses came two from the
United States and one from mainland Europe.
Favourable comment continued to be received throughout the summer. We attracted a number of
financial donations from individuals to allow us to print more copies and offers of assistance with
distribution.
We will never really know how effective the Special Edition was in furthering our cause of
protecting our wild lands from entirely inappropriate wind farm development. Although it was
not our main purpose, we were certainly successful in raising the profile of SWLG and attracting
new members and indeed new members to our Steering Group.
Rewilding
We were sufficiently encouraged to start laying plans for a second special edition, this time on
the subject of Rewilding. We would like to publish a bigger edition this time but otherwise using
much the same format. The Steering Group have been represented at conferences and seminars
on the subject.
Consultations
The SWLG submitted responses to three consultations organised by Scottish Natural Heritage
(Core Areas of Wild Land map) and by the Scottish Government (National Planning Framework
3 and Scottish Planning 3) each being particularly relevant to our core objectives.
The Scottish Wild Land Group
Accounts and Report for the year ended 31 March 2014
In relation to the SNH Core Areas of Wild Land map, we argued:
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The 'core areas' of wild land identified on Scottish Natural Heritage’s (SNH) current 2013
map are intrinsically valid and wholly defensible.
We believe that the map is a very necessary, objective summary of some of the best areas
of wild land in the country.
The value of our wild land is immense, not just within a national and European context
but globally; a resource, both material and non-material, which we should be proud to
offer the world. The map has a crucial role to play in identifying the scale and nature of
that resource.
We consider the map, nevertheless, to represent a minimal definition of Scotland’s wild
land, and one that would become invalid if further eroded. We note the absence of some
areas identified as core areas of wild land in SNH’s Version 2: Interim Phase 1 Map, and
contend that further changes made on the basis of consultation responses or commercial
lobbying, and not on the basis of the kind of objective criteria employed by SNH, would
be inappropriate.
We suggest that there should be scope for additional areas of core wild land to be added
to this map in the years ahead, if and when they are identified as satisfying the necessary
criteria.
Hill Tracks Campaign
LINK’s Hilltracks Campaign Group called on the Scottish Government to bring to an end the
current unregulated system for vehicular track construction which allows landowners to build
tracks without any public oversight, and instead to bring their construction into the planning
system.
Calum Brown in particular worked with other LINK representatives on the report ‘Track
Changes’ which gives photographic evidence of the damage caused to landscapes, wildlife and
habitats across Scotland by some of these tracks and aimed to persuade the Scottish Government
to remove permitted development rights from such tracks and enable proper public scrutiny of
any future plans.
Scottish Environment LINK
We also participated in the work of Scottish Environment LINK, the forum for Scotland's
voluntary environment organisations. Its over 30 member bodies represent a wide range of
environmental interests with the common goal of contributing to a more environmentally
sustainable society.
LINK provides a forum for its member bodies enabling informed debate, and assisting cooperation within the voluntary environmental sector. Core activities are information sharing,
discussion, and joint action.
LINK assists communication between member bodies, government and its agencies and other
The Scottish Wild Land Group
Accounts and Report for the year ended 31 March 2014
sectors within civic society. Acting at local, national and international levels, LINK aims to
ensure that the environment is fully recognised in the development of policy and legislation
affecting Scotland.
The SWLG gave modest financial support to LINK to assist funding its Hill Tracks campaign,
and also its report on Wildlife Crime.
Policy on Reserves
The Group aims to retain reserves around the level of one year’s gross income, to ensure
adequate funds to meet day to day expenses, and a sufficient level of continuity. At present,
funds exceed this level. All funds are available for the general purposes of the Group. After
several years of deficits, in 2012/13 members responded generously to a note in Wild Land News
explaining the unsustainable position, and a surplus of £7,374 (2011/12, deficit £2,720) was
made during that year. Members’ generosity continued during the year ended 31 March 2014,
largely in response to “Wind farms gone wild” with many exceptional donations aimed at further
publicising the issue, and a surplus of £734 was retained, with reserves of £13,798 (2013,
£13,064) at the year end.
John Milne – Co-ordinator
3 September 2014
The Scottish Wild Land Group
Accounts and Report for the year ended 31 March 2014
Report of the Independent Examiner to the Trustees of the Scottish Wild Land Group
I report on the Accounts of the Scottish Wild Land Group for the year ended 31 March 2014 in
accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, “the
Act”, and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 – “the Regulations”. The
Trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(1)(d) does not apply.
Respective responsibilities of Trustees and Independent Examiner
As the trustees of the Charity, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. It is my
responsibility under S 44(1)(c) of the Act to examine these accounts, and to report whether
particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of Independent Examiner’s Report
My examination is carried out in accordance with Regulation 11, and includes a review of the
accounting records kept by the charity, and a comparison of the accounts presented with those
records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and
seeks explanations from the trustees concerning such matters. The procedures undertaken do not
provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an
audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.
Independent Examiner’s statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:(1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements to
keep accounting records in accordance with Section 44 of the Act and Regulation 4; and to
prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records; and to comply with the accounting
requirements of the Act and Regulation 9, have not been met; or,
(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding
of the accounts to be reached.
Gordon Strachan MCIBS
Cluanie
11 School Brae
Drumoak
Banchory
AB31 5DZ
17 September 2014
The Scottish Wild Land Group
Accounts and Report for the year ended 31 March 2014
Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2014
Basis of preparation of the Accounts
The accounts comprise an Income and Expenditure Account, recording receipts and
payments including receivables and accruals, and a Statement of Balances at the year
end, in accordance with the requirements of The Charities Accounts (Scotland)
Regulations 2006, “the Regulations”.
Accounts – Independent Examination
As the Group has gross income less than £100,000 pa, it has prepared this statement of
account in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 9. As required by Regulation
11, the committee has appointed an independent examiner, Gordon Strachan MCIBS to
examine the accounts, and to report to the committee. His report is attached.
Unrestricted General Funds
The Group’s funds are held without restriction, to be applied for the general purposes of
the Group.
Charity Trustees
No remuneration or other benefit was paid or provided to any of the trustees. Direct out
of pocket expenses, such as postage costs incurred on the Group’s activities, were
reimbursed, but no reimbursement of travel costs to Steering committee meetings was
made. There were no transactions between the Group and the trustees or any persons
connected with them.
The Independent Examiner received no remuneration for his services to the Group. The
Group is extremely grateful to the Independent Examiner for his work and report.