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| About the Trust | |
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INTRODUCTIONBy Eric Sorensen, Chairman
Successful regeneration and success in business depends on the economic and social health of the community as a whole. This requires financial support for community projects which are vital in establishing stable communities and the development and support of the skills and expertise of local communities. Experience demonstrates that this can most effectively be achieved through partnerships between local employers, key public agencies and local communities. In the decade up to its demise in 1998, the London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) worked in partnership with the London Borough of Newham (LBN) and Newham's voluntary sector to run a joint funding programme which offered financial support to community projects and the voluntary sector. To maintain this support into the future the LDDC and LBN, in partnership with representatives of the local community and senior business leaders, established the Royal Docks Trust (London). The LDDC provided the Trust with a core endowment of £2,700,000. The income generated is added to year on year by the London Borough of Newham. This has allowed the Trust and the Council to develop and sustain a grants programme approaching some £200,000 p.a. The Trust thus provides an essential element in the continuing regeneration of Newham's Docklands. The Trust aims to be truly representative of the communities it serves and positively welcomes the involvement of new members from the local community and from the business and voluntary sectors. I hope you will wish to join with the Trust to work for its continuing success and that of Newham's Docklands. Eric Sorensen THE TRUST'S VISIONTHE Royal Docks Trust (London) is determined to play a key role in the continuing regeneration of Newham's Docklands. Central to the Trust's focus is the belief that if local community organisations are properly supported they will help to build a thriving and vibrant Newham Docklands community. Funding for such groups is therefore a key objective. The Trust wants also to foster and develop partnerships of local residents, local businesses, key developers and Newham Council. The Trust believes that partnerships of this kind, which bring together the experience, skills and expertise of local residents and local business, also help to secure a flourishing, economically secure community which is not only mutually supportive but also benefits from a lower incidence of crime. THE TRUST'S WORK AND OBJECTIVESTHE Trust was established and registered as a charity (number 1045057) in March 1995. It works to provide community benefits to Newham's Docklands, being that part of Newham which lies between the A13 trunk road and the River Thames - click here to see a map showing the Trust's area (71kb). 
The Trust was established with broad objectives which allow it also to promote, support and where appropriate, to make direct provision for :
Central to the Trust's work, in partnership with Newham Council, is the funding of community initiatives via an annual grants programme of £200,000. HOW THE TRUST WORKSTHE Trust is a not-for-profit charitable company. Its affairs are managed by a Board of Trustees all of whom give their time free. The Board is structured to ensure that it is representative of local businesses, community organisations and residents as well as key public sector regeneration agencies including English Partnerships and Newham Council. The range of experience thus gained enables the Trust to shape its priorities effectively to ensure that its work makes a real difference in meeting the aspirations of local people. As a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee it is accountable to the Charity Commissioners and to the Registrar of Companies. The Trust's income comes from the investment of its core £2,700,000 endowment provided by the LDDC together with the income earned from the investment of the project funds held by the Trust. GRANTS PROGRAMMETHE income from the Trust's LDDC core £2,700,000 endowment allows the Trust to offer jointly with Newham Council an annual voluntary sector grants programme of approximately £200,000. Applications for grants are invited annually by open advertisement in October /November. There is also a Minor Grants Programme for which application can be made at any time. All grants require the concurrence of the Trustees and the Council. The maximum period of funding for any project is 3 years. Under the terms of the grant agreement under which the Trust's endowment was paid, the Trust is precluded from making grants to individuals. See our Grants Page for more details of the Grants Programme and contact details. PROJECTS PROGRAMMEFLOWING from its partnership with the LDDC and Newham Council the Trust was made the custodian of LDDC project funding of £8.6 million which is additional to its core endowment, This additional project funding is being used to implement a number of social projects which could not be completed prior to the LDDC's demise. These include:
The income from the investment of these funds is used for the Trust's administration of the projects and for its general charitable purposes.
LANDTHE Trust holds the freehold interest in the following properties in its area which are used for community purposes:
WINSOR PARK MANAGEMENT COMPANYTHE Trust also inherited from LDDC the "special share" in the Winsor Park Management Company Limited. The Winsor Park Estate is a large housing development built on a site which in former times was a part of the Beckton Gas Works. Investigations by LDDC showed that contamination was present over much of the site including various liquors and tarry products. Surface water ponding across the site was also shown to be highly acidic and contaminated with oil-tar material. Waste products from the gas works were found to a depth of 4 metres and included substances which are both toxic and carcinogenic even at very low concentrations. Many of the contaminants were also corrosive and therefore damaging to construction materials. LDDC concluded that the only viable approach to the reclamation of the area was by a containment system. This had the advantage that no material needed to be removed from site which would be instantly available once the engineering works were completed. In view of the degree of contamination it was felt that the barrier should consist of a minimum of a metre clean imported material with venting and a perimeter drain to allow ground water discharge. The Winsor Park Management Company was set up to monitor the reclamation scheme and LDDC established an Accumulation Fund, held by the management company, to meet any expenditure required in respect of any failure of, or damage to, the reclamation works. The special shareholder has a responsibility to oversee the conduct of the Company. It has the power to appoint up to four directors of the Company if it sees fit and two such directors have been appointed. The special shareholder is also a joint signatory of the Accumulation Fund account and has a duty to ensure the proper operation of that account. The fund currently has a value of several million pounds and attracts about £200,000 of interest per year net of tax. It is to be held by Winsor Park Management Company Limited until 11th April 2070, unless it is required to be spent as above or unless an engineer reports that there is no reasonable likelihood of the fund having to be spent for that purpose - such engineering reports have to be obtained every 10 years commencing 11th April 2010. In either event the fund, or what is left of it, becomes repayable to the Trust as the holder of the special share. SRB PARTNERSHIPDuring 2000 the Trust worked with LBN and other partners to submit a bid to Government for funding under the Single Regeneration Budget (SRB). This work was successful and in July 2000 the “Access to Excellence” partnership was awarded £18.75 million over the period 2000 - 2007. A core objective of the partnership’s work was to remove barriers to employment and training for local residents. The partnership identified three priority community areas of which two were within the Trust’s area of benefit, namely, Custom House and Canning Town and North Woolwich and Silvertown. The third area, Manor Park, lies to the north outside the Trust’s area. The resources secured via the SRB programme helped to address the issues which the Trust has championed since its inception. The Trust supported the SRB partnership in establishing a Board on which the Trust was represented, to work closely with Community Forums in the priority areas to ensure that projects funded by the SRB programme were firmly rooted in the community and genuinely reflected the needs and aspirations of local people. Where possible and appropriate the Trust sought to link its funding to SRB initiatives . Click
here for the Access to Excellence website DOCKERS STATUEThe Trust provides the corporate umbrella for a statue for which a group of local people raised the funds over a period of some years. The statue is now in place on the north side of the Royal Victoria Dock, adjoining the western entrance of the ExCeL Exhibition Centre. It depicts dockers at work and thus celebrates the past of the area and many of its people. Apart from taking "ownership" of the project the Trust also donated £25,000 towards the cost. The sculptor is Les Johnson. FUTURE PROSPECTSThe economy is going through a bumpy patch and this is bound to have an impact locally. At such a time it is more important than ever that the Trust should be working hard to help support the local community. Even so, the area is full of opportunity and there is land for development including: Silvertown Quays
And there are transport projects too. The DLR is now being extended to Woolwich Arsenal and Crossrail is planned to start soon.
TRUST PEOPLETHE Trust's constitution provides for the Trust's Board to be drawn from the Trust's initial sponsors and for it to include representatives of the residential and business communities. It is also possible for the Trust to make co-options to the Board. The Trust is required to have a minimum of seven trustees but not more than seventeen (inclusive of co-optees).
Wanted - New TrusteesThe Trust is looking for volunteers to join the Trust Board.....
The Trust's Officers are:Company Secretary: John Parker Hon Treasurer: Bob Heaton Auditors: Gotham Erskine (appointed 23 January 2001) Advisers and Consultants:Investment: Merrill Lynch Consultants: John Johnson and Stuart
Innes Bankers: National Westminster Bank, Beckton Branch 
CONTACT ADDRESS:John Parker Tel: 01304 853465 Fax: 08715 227008 NOTE: The Grants Programme is administered by the London Borough of Newham - see Grants Page for details Page last updated: 22nd March 2009 |
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The Royal Docks Trust (London) Registered in England and Wales as a company limited by guarantee: Registration No: 3032232 Registered as a charity: Registration No: 1045057 Registered office: 37 Rushey Green, Catford, London SE6 4AF E-mail: Click Here |
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THE
1980s and 1990s saw the transformation of the social, physical and economic
environment of Newham's Docklands. This was characterised by an increasing
determination by central and local Government, and by the public and private
sectors, to work together to create a successful economy and community
for the 21st century. The rapid growth in the number of residents has
been underpinned by major investment in community facilities of all kinds
and new employment opportunities.
Education and vocational training 
