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Charity Details

 

Action to Protect Rural Scotland

SC016139Registered charity from 01 March 1929
2MB ZIP file, with green, blue and mono style logos
2MB ZIP file, with green, blue and mono style logos
Information about this charity:
Charity Information Operations Annual Submissions Income and Expenditure Charity Trustees
Notes:
This SCIO was incorporated on 26/01/2026 as a result of the conversion of a charitable company (Company number: SC154563, company name: THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROTECTION OF RURAL SCOTLAND)
Charity Information:
The Name the Charity is Known By APRS
Address Augustine United Church
41 George IV Bridge
EDINBURGH
Postcode EH1 1EL
Website www.aprs.scot
Regulatory Type Standard
Object:
The organisation’s purposes are: ● The advancement of environmental protection or improvement; ● The advancement of community development; and ● The advancement of education. And in furtherance thereof: ● To protect Scotland’s countryside and rural landscapes, including settlements and built heritage, for the benefit and enjoyment of the public and communities, ensuring that decisions on land use respect, safeguard and, where possible, enhance the character and qualities of countryside and rural landscapes; ● To promote the designation, conservation, and management of protected landscapes ● To provide support, advice, information, training, and a point of connection and coordination for community representatives, and individuals (in each case) on the above matters . ● To undertake, support and co-ordinate work in furtherance of the above. Including (without limitation) research, education, advocacy, and investigations. ● To take such other lawful action as shall be calculated to promote the above purposes.
Operations:
What the charity is set up to do and how it does this:
We campaign on a number of issues including protection and accessibility of landscapes and countryside, greater planning protection for Green Belts and stricter environmental standards for data centres and battery storage installations. We are actively involved in national policy development and advocacy, and we take the insights from our community support work and use them to change policy for the better. By working both “outside track” with communities and “inside track” with policymakers, we bridge the gap between lived experience and legislation. For example, last year brought a major success when all four long-running Green Belt community campaigns APRS had supported as test cases saw planning refused. Evidence from these cases directly influenced stronger protections for Green Belts in the Planning System, securing greater safeguards nationwide after years of APRS campaigning. We partner with communities, grassroots campaigners, other charities, local authority, government
Charity Status: Active
Constitutional Form: SCIO (Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation)
Constitutional Form Date: 26 Jan 2026
Previous Constitutional Form: Company (the charity is registered with Companies House)
Previous Constitutional Form Date: 01 Mar 1929
Main Operating Location: City of Edinburgh
Number of Staff: 3
Number of Volunteers: 1-50
Purposes: "the advancement of education", "the advancement of citizenship or community development", "the advancement of environmental protection or improvement"
Beneficiaries: "No specific group, or for the benefit of the community"
Types Of Activity Undertaken: "It carries out activities or services itself"
Annual Submissions:
Year End Income Expenditure Annual Return Received Accounts Received Latest Annual Reports and Accounts
31 Dec 2021 £214,053 £140,789 01 Jul 2022 Yes
31 Dec 2022 £137,605 £158,024 28 Jun 2023 Yes
31 Dec 2023 £105,900 £233,651 30 May 2024 Yes
31 Dec 2024 £154,486 £164,440 04 Jun 2025 Yes
31 Dec 2025 £129,929 £104,662 07 May 2026 Yes Download
If an annual return has been received on time (within nine months of the Year End Date), the 'Annual Return Received' box is green   . If an annual return is late, the box is red   .
Income and Expenditure:
Charity Trustees:
First Name Last Name
John Esslemont
Graeme Purves
Suzie Saunders
Iain Harrison
Andrew Dorin
Robert Reid
Eric George Gunning Baird
From 09 March 2026, OSCR is required by law to publish the names of a charity’s trustees as part of its Scottish Charity Register entry. We are also required to publish each charity’s annual report and accounts as received from this date, which may include the names of certain individuals. The only exceptions to publication are where a charity or one of its charity trustees applies for this information to be excluded, and OSCR is satisfied that publishing it would jeopardise the safety or security of a person or premises.

If the charity trustee information on a Register entry appears blank, this may mean that an exemption applies or that the charity has not yet provided the required details to OSCR. Supplying this information will become mandatory as part of future annual submissions.
Copyright

From 30 June 2025, OSCR began collecting charity trustee information through OSCR Online. Providing this information is a legal requirement for all charities. The names of trustees will be published on the Scottish Charity Register from early 2026 to promote transparency and strengthen public trust in the sector.

© Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator 2006. Crown Database Right 2006.

The Scottish Charity Register ("The Register") is subject to Crown database right.

The Scottish Charity Register is licenced under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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When you use this information under the OGL, you should include the following attribution: © Crown Copyright and database right 2020. Contains information from the Scottish Charity Register supplied by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator and licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0.

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  • the names of a charity’s trustees (exemptions apply)
  • its annual report and full accounts, if submitted after 9 March 2026
    (Accounts submitted prior to 9 March 2026 will be redacted, or may not be published, depending on the charity’s income level or legal form.)

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  • a copy of the charity’s latest statement of accounts
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