There are two crucial funds established within the Herefordshire & Gloucestershire Canal Trust (H&G CT) which donors can choose to support:
- the Opportunities Fund and
- the Land Fund.
We also greatly appreciate donations to the H&G CT’s general funds.
The Opportunities Fund was created following an anonymous £100,000 donation and has a widely drawn remit to support any significant project that may provide a lasting benefit to the H&G CT’s ambitions. This might include purchase of the line of the Canal but is not restricted to it.
The Land Fund is longer established. This fund is there to do ‘exactly as it says on the tin’ and provide the crucial funding to acquire the track of the Hereford and Gloucester Canal to permit restoration.
Some recent purchases and received funds indicate the scale of numbers involved. The acquisition of The Malswick House pub and restaurant at Newent for £225,000+VAT was only made possible by two further anonymous donations by members: one of £10,000 and the other a short-term interest-free bridging loan of £60,000 pending HMRC’s eventual repayment of the VAT paid on the purchase price. The Opportunities Fund and other resources were temporarily invested as well on the basis that the asset could be borrowed against as required in the future and was likely to provide a higher return to the H&G CT. A grant of £20,000 to acquire a much-needed tractor and attachments was secured from the SW Regional Development Agency, Defra and the European Commission, as part of the Rural Development Programme for England.
Projects that need funding:
Large sums of money continue to be required by our L&PDT principally to secure land for Canal construction and restoration.
Short term priorities which require considerable funding include:–
- Reconstruction of Mill Barn at Over to replace the current shipping containers and provide a much improved volunteer mess room, disabled WC facilities, storage and base for the new Canal wide Maintenance Team. The large loft space will provide a crucial meeting/training room, and hugely improved open plan office space for the Legal & Project Development Team.
View plans of Mill Barn - The Dymock Development requires a six figure investment from the H&G CT. This will see the construction of the Canal and also a 3-bedroom detached house for the Trust to let. This, together with index linked annual charges from the other open market properties on the development, will provide long term income for the maintenance and management of the Canal in the area and the H&G CT will receive a share of the open market property sales.
Learn more about Dymock - Aylestone Weir:
A considerable five figure investment by the H&G CT provides a shortly to be completed storm overflow weir of 6.5 cubic metres per second capacity. This is a significant long term investment providing both essential infrastructure for the Canal and support for surface water management in the City of Hereford.
View progress on Aylestone Overflow Weir - Newent Station Site: This will see a six figure investment from the H&G CT in completely restoring the former railway station – with water between its platforms and the Canal stretching back to the current site at Oxenhall.
Learn more about Newent plans - Land Purchase: This remains the most important aspect by far. Acquiring land for the course of the Canal – in some cases where the route runs diagonally across a field purchase of the whole field may be the best option.
Download a Land Fund Leaflet
Ways you could help:
Fulfilling these priorities is dependent upon access to adequate funding in the form of donations, loans, bequests and grants. There are several ways to support the H&G CT now and in the future.
- Donations
You might like to consider making a gift to the H&G CT during your lifetime? This can benefit the charity further through an income tax rebate, providing you are a relevant tax payer and meet the simple rules of Gift Aid. Additionally, if you are a higher rate tax payer, you will be eligible to reclaim tax at the higher rate. And such lifetime gifts to a charity do not count as part of your estate should you be unfortunate enough to die within seven years of making the gift, unlike gifts to individuals or non-charitable bodies. Alternatively, you might like to consider donating to the H&G CT a monthly sum paid by standing order. The value of these donations is again enhanced as they can similarly be Gift Aided if you are a relevant tax payer. A revised declaration for GIFT AID has been introduced - Loans
Do you have funds in the bank earning very little? Could you loan the Trust a minimum of £5,000 (or even £1million!) fully secured against our assets if required for larger sums? A five or ten year interest free loan could potentially cost you very little but gives the H&G CT the cash flow to achieve major progress. - Bequests
Most crucially have you considered remembering the H&G CT in your Will, please, as a lasting legacy to be used towards the restoration of the H&G Canal into a 34 mile working waterway? This will be enjoyed for leisure activities by current and future generations of visitors and in the local communities through which it passes, bringing economic and employment benefits to these areas and to the two counties. The course of the Canal runs through some of the most beautiful English countryside which so many more will enjoy from the restored Canal and clearly defined towpath. And, of course, it will connect with the national network of inland waterways unique to this country and enjoyed by so many.
Reducing Tax Liability. As the H&G CT is a registered charity, your legacy is subtracted from the value of your estate for tax purposes. This reduces the amount of your estate that is chargeable to inheritance tax as well as benefiting the work of the H&G CT. It is recommended that you seek professional advice on your individual circumstances before signing a Will or adding a Codicil to an existing Will in favour of the H&G CT.
More information on bequests and a new legacy guide will be available shortly be available on this website.
The H&G CT is most grateful to everyone who has made and is considering a donation, large or small, towards the restoration of the H&G Canal. If you would like to speak to someone in confidence please contact our Treasurer through the Contact Us page from this website.
Thank you.
