Community · Reg 1087318
THE SWANAGE RAILWAY TRUST
Charity rating & review
80/100 Clarity Score · 3 stars · Charity Commission filings · How we score
Clarity score
Good
Is THE SWANAGE RAILWAY TRUST a good charity?
THE SWANAGE RAILWAY TRUST scores 80/100 (Good) on our Clarity Score, with 8% of spending going to charitable activities and accounts late. This reflects financial transparency and stewardship from Charity Commission filings — not the real-world impact of its programmes. See the full breakdown.
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Mission
THE SWANAGE RAILWAY TRUST is a registered charity (no. 1087318) working in community in Birmingham · BH19 1HB. Its latest Charity Commission filing directs 8% of spending to charitable activities, holding roughly 4 months of reserves, though its recent accounts were filed late. Reported income has been declining over recent years. CharityCompare's Clarity Score rates the organisation only from public Charity Commission accounts — accountability, financial health, efficiency and community support — not the quality or impact of its programmes.
In short: THE SWANAGE RAILWAY TRUST scores 80 out of 100 (3 stars). 8% average program spend (3-year average). Review the pillar breakdown below.
Overview
THE SWANAGE RAILWAY TRUST has a Clarity Score of 80 out of 100 on CharityCompare (3 stars, Good). Charity Commission registration number 1087318. Status: Registered. Primary cause area: Community. Latest accounts year 2021: total income £2.1m, with 8% of expenditure on charitable activities. Accounts filing: late. Reserves: approximately 4 months of operating costs. 1 filing concern(s) noted on this profile. Scores are independent and based on official filings — not a donation recommendation.
Data from Charity Commission register, last updated .
Overall score
80/100
3★ · Good
Cause spend
8%
3-yr avg · charitable activities
Accountability
75/100
Finance beacon
Income
£2.1m
Latest year 2021
Reserves
4 mo
Months of running costs
Accounts filing
Late
Check register
£365.7 raised per £1 fundraising (3-yr avg) · 1% overhead · Website on register · Confidence: medium
How THE SWANAGE RAILWAY TRUST compares
Clarity Score benchmarked against similar UK charities — higher is better.
Ranks higher than 55% of 3,014 charities in its income band.
Ranks higher than 57% of 210 charities in this cause.
Data & confidence
- Source
- Charity Commission (E&W)
- Accounts year
- 2021
- Filing date
- 2026-06-24 00:00:00.0000000
- Profile reviewed
- 2026-06-25
Medium confidence — some data missing or late
Scores reflect the latest annual accounts on the register. Impact, leadership, and culture beacons require information beyond public filings.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Charity Commission for England and Wales . Open Government Licence v3.0 .
Beacon report
Detailed accountability and finance metrics from Charity Commission filings — structured for transparency in our four-beacon report.
Accountability & Transparency
Baseline trust from filing discipline, board oversight, and declared governance policies.
75/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Filing history (5 years) 100% on-time over five years = 15 pts · one late filing = 5 pts · two or more = 0 pts. | 33% | 5/15 pts |
| Trustee oversight Three or more trustees on the register = 15 pts · one or two = 0 pts (governance red flag). | 100% | 11 trustees · 15/15 pts |
| Declared policies Safeguarding (4) · conflict of interest (3) · volunteer management (3) — from Charity Commission annual return. | 100% | 10/10 pts |
Financial Health
Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.
100/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Reserves (months of cash) 3–24 months = 15 pts · 1–3 months = 7 pts · under 1 month or over 3 years (hoarding) = 0 pts. | 100% | 4 months · 15/15 pts |
| Income stability / growth Positive or stable three-year revenue trend = 10 pts · sustained decline = 0 pts. | 100% | 10/10 pts · 3-year average |
| Liabilities to assets Low debt (< 30% liabilities to assets) = 5 pts · high debt = 0 pts. | 100% | 9% · 5/5 pts |
Financial Efficiency
How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.
50/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Program expense ratio ≥ 75% on charitable activities = 10 pts · 60–75% = 5 pts · below 60% = 0 pts. | 0% | 8% · 0/10 pts (3-year average) |
| Fundraising efficiency Spends ≤ £0.20 to raise £1 = 10 pts · £0.21–£0.35 = 5 pts · above £0.35 = 0 pts (fundraising cost ÷ income). | 100% | 0p per £1 income · 10/10 pts (3-year average) |
Community Support
Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.
100/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Volunteer-to-staff ratio More volunteers than paid staff = 10 pts · equal mix = 5 pts · no volunteers = 0 pts. | 100% | 450 volunteers / 32 staff · 10/10 pts |
Clarity Score
80/100 total · Good · 3 of 4 stars
Four pillars (40 + 30 + 20 + 10 points) from Charity Commission filings — see methodology for full weightings.
Accountability & Transparency
Baseline trust from filing discipline, board oversight, and declared governance policies.
75/100
Financial Health
Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.
100/100
Financial Efficiency
How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.
50/100
Community Support
Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.
100/100
Revenue & expenses
Latest filed year 2021 · Source: Charity Commission annual accounts
| Category | Amount | % of spend |
|---|---|---|
| Total income | £2.1m | — |
| Total expenditure | £3.3m | — |
| Charitable activities | £197k | 6% |
| Fundraising | £24k | 1% |
| Governance & admin | £25k | 1% |
Where the money goes
Latest accounts (2021) · £3.3m spent
- Charitable activities6% · £197k
- Fundraising1% · £24k
- Governance1% · £25k
- Other spending93% · £3.1m
Trust indicators
Pulled from the Charity Commission register — filing behaviour, board size, and workforce where reported.
-
Accounts filed on time
Filing status: late
-
Trustee board size (3–12)
11 trustees on the Charity Commission register
-
Workforce on register
32 employees · 450 volunteers (14:1 volunteer-to-staff)
Fundraising Regulator
Status not yet checked
Separate from our financial scores — shows whether the charity follows the Code of Fundraising Practice.
Check Fundraising Regulator →Official register
Reg 1087318
Full trustee list, accounts, and regulatory history on the Charity Commission.
View on Charity Commission →Trustees & officers
- ELIZABETH MAUREEN SELLEN
- MICHAEL ALAN WHITWAM
- Frank Roberts Chair · since 2022
- Benjamin Jack Ford since 2022
- Clare Collins since 2022
- Daniel John Bennett since 2023
- Clive Austin Hardy since 2023
- Ian Kapur since 2023
- Alexander Atkins since 2023
- Gavin Johns since 2025
- Jim Wheeler since 2025
How we score charities +
The Clarity Score is a 100-point rating from UK Charity Commission data. Four pillars — Accountability & Transparency (40), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10). A statutory inquiry sets the score to 0 automatically.
Accountability & Transparency
Scored from filings
40 points — filing history (15), trustee oversight (15), declared policies (10).
Financial Health
Scored from filings
30 points — reserves (15), income stability (10), liabilities to assets (5).
Financial Efficiency
Scored from filings
20 points — program expense ratio (10), fundraising efficiency (10). Kept at 20% to avoid punishing legitimate infrastructure costs.
Community Support
Scored from filings
10 points — volunteer-to-staff ratio from Charity Commission workforce data.
Overall score
Sum of all pillar points. Translated to stars: 90–100 Exceptional (4★), 75–89 Good (3★), 60–74 Needs improvement (2★), below 60 Poor (1★).
Five-year trends
- Income
- Spending
- Cause spend
Values in £ thousands · Source: Charity Commission accounts
Key facts
- Overall score
- 80/100 (3★)
- Income
- £2.1m
- Cause spend
- 8% of expenditure
- Reg number
- 1087318
- Scope
- Local (birmingham)
- Reserves
- 4 months
- Trustees
- 11
- Accounts year
- 2021
- Filing
- late
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Red flags
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about THE SWANAGE RAILWAY TRUST's rating, finances, and Charity Commission status.
What is THE SWANAGE RAILWAY TRUST's charity rating? +
THE SWANAGE RAILWAY TRUST scores 80 out of 100 on CharityCompare (3 stars — Good). The Clarity Score V1 sums four pillars from Charity Commission filings: Accountability & Transparency (40 pts), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10).
Is THE SWANAGE RAILWAY TRUST a good charity to donate to? +
THE SWANAGE RAILWAY TRUST scores 80 out of 100 (3 stars — Good) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, our independent read of its Charity Commission filings. Around 8% of its spending goes to charitable activities and its accounts are late. That reflects how transparent and financially healthy it looks on paper — it does not measure the real-world impact of its work, so treat it as one factor alongside the cause you care about. CharityCompare never tells you where to donate.
Is THE SWANAGE RAILWAY TRUST a legitimate UK charity? +
Yes — THE SWANAGE RAILWAY TRUST is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales under registration number 1087318. You can verify the entry on the official register.
What is THE SWANAGE RAILWAY TRUST's Charity Commission registration number? +
THE SWANAGE RAILWAY TRUST's registration number is 1087318. Official register: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/1087318
How much income does THE SWANAGE RAILWAY TRUST receive? +
THE SWANAGE RAILWAY TRUST reported £2.1m total income in its 2021 accounts, based on Charity Commission filings. Five-year trend: declining.
What percentage of THE SWANAGE RAILWAY TRUST's spending goes to charitable activities? +
Approximately 8% of total expenditure went to charitable activities in the latest filed year. Fundraising was 0% and combined overhead (fundraising plus governance) was 1%.
Are THE SWANAGE RAILWAY TRUST's accounts up to date? +
Filing status: late (last filing 2026-06-24 00:00:00.0000000). CharityCompare flags late or missing accounts separately from the financial score.
Where is THE SWANAGE RAILWAY TRUST based? +
THE SWANAGE RAILWAY TRUST is listed at Birmingham · BH19 1HB, focused on community.
How does CharityCompare score THE SWANAGE RAILWAY TRUST? +
We analyse Charity Commission annual accounts using three-year averages for program expense, fundraising efficiency, and overhead; working capital from reserves vs average expenditure; liabilities-to-assets from the latest balance sheet when available. Impact, leadership, and culture beacons are not yet assessed from public data alone. See our methodology for weights and thresholds.
Does CharityCompare recommend donating to THE SWANAGE RAILWAY TRUST? +
No. CharityCompare provides independent scores and facts from official filings. We do not tell you where to donate or earn commission from charities.
How can I compare THE SWANAGE RAILWAY TRUST with other charities? +
Use our free compare tool to put THE SWANAGE RAILWAY TRUST side-by-side with other UK charities on scores, finances, and filing status.