The Strategic Director – Place will present a report (Document “O”) which seeks permission to approach the Charity Commission for a scheme to allow the potential construction of a crematorium and associated works on land at Littlemoor Park, Queensbury, Bradford.

Littlemoor Park (otherwise known as Foster Park) is a registered charity (519426) of which the Council is the sole Trustee.

Recommended –

(1)       That the Strategic Director – Place approach the Charity Commission in respect of a scheme for the potential construction of a crematorium and associated works at Littlemoor Park, Queensbury, Bradford.

(2)       That the Strategic Director – Place be requested to submit a further report to the Committee, in due course, in respect of the Charity Commission’s response and the Bereavement Service’s proposals for the site.

                                                            (Phil Barker – 01274 – 432616)

The Strategic Director – Place presented a report (Document “O”) which sought the Trustee’s permission to approach the Charity Commission to apply for a scheme in respect of the potential disposal of part of Littlemoor Park, Queensbury, Bradford.

He explained that the request had been forthcoming further to approval of the Council’s Bereavement Strategy. Feasibility studies were being undertaken in respect of five potential sites across the district, of which this was one, to allow the construction of two new crematoria and associated works.

The report explained that Littlemoor Park (otherwise known as Foster Park) was a registered charity (519426) of which the Council was the sole Trustee. Its charitable objectives were ‘for the purpose of a public park and recreation ground for the benefit and use of the inhabitants of Queensbury and the public and to be associated with the Silver Jubilee of his late Majesty King George the Fifth and in memory of the said Herbert Anderton Foster’.

Independent legal advice had been sought to advise the Trustees on their obligations and a summary was set out in the report (the full advice was appended to the report as Not for Publication Appendix C). This explained that unless the disposal of the property (or part of the property) to the Council was sanctioned by a Charity Commission Scheme then an Order of the Charity Commission would be required (under Section 118 of the Charities Act 2011). This was due to the Council being a ‘connected person’ and thus there being a conflict of interest. The advice also reminded the Trustees that they had to act in the best interests of the Trust.

In response to questions from the Trustees, the Strategic Director and the City Solicitor said that:

·         The understanding was that any scheme to dispose of the land could not be drawn up until the Charity Commission had been consulted and the Charity Commission could not be consulted until the agreement of the Trustees was obtained.

·         The Charity Commission may ask how the Trust intended to use any funds arising from the disposal of the land.

The Trustees commented that:

·         In order to get to the point of disposal the Trustees had to be comfortable that the disposal of any part of the park would be in the interests of the beneficiaries of the Trust ie the people of Queensbury. There was a need to be clear that there would be a benefit for the people of Queensbury before an approach was made to the Charity Commission.

·         Any benefit would arise from the value of the land; this could be established without permission being required from the Charity Commission. The benefits would be established from knowing how much the land was worth and whether that was enough to provide another facility for the people of Queensbury.

·         At this stage this was purely an appraisal of the possibilities and the viability.

·         The proposal was considered to be a non-starter; the land had been bequeathed as an open space for all time for the inhabitants of Queensbury.

·         The Trustees were responsible for overseeing this process on behalf of the public and the people of Queensbury.

·         The Trustees had to consider if they would be acting improperly if they requested a valuation so that they could consider if this was sufficient to provide value to people of Queensbury; or should the Charity Commission be approached first; or was the answer an unequivocal ‘no’ due to the terms of the Trust.

·         It was understood that some Trust terms could become irrelevant due to changes in circumstances but in this case the land was still there so the purpose established by the Deed of Gift had not been frustrated.

The Strategic Director said that the legal advice was clear that the Trustees could, with the approval of the Charity Commission, properly dispose of a part of the park if they chose.

The City Solicitor stated that, as Trustees, a decision had to be made on whether the terms of the trust were still valid and to consider whether they could be better served by a sum of money used to fulfil the same objectives.

Representatives of the Friends of Littlemoor Park were in attendance at the meeting and put forward the following concerns:

·         The Friends Group and the wider community wholeheartedly objected to this proposal, a petition had been gathered with over 1000 signatures.

·         The proposal constituted a serious conflict of interest. The Charity Commission suggested that without the removal of a conflict of interest a matter should not proceed.

·         The independent legal advice did not appear to consider this to be as serious a matter as described by the Charities Commission. The information in the Strategic Director’s report did not resolve the conflict of interest and it was believed the Trustees could not, therefore, make a decision.

·         The Trustees were not in possession of all the facts. An approach should only be made to the Charities Commission when the Trustees were in possession of all the relevant information; they had not been given all the information they required.

·         The Trustees needed to be confident all the facts had been gathered this should include consultation. It was a criminal offence under the relevant legislation to not provide all the necessary information. The Committee had not been made aware of all the key facts.

·         The proposal would not fulfil the terms of the Trust. It was considered that there had been a failure in the obligation to understand how the Charity benefitted the public.

·         The Trustees must behave with integrity in order to maintain the respect of the public.

·         The Foster family had not been aware of these proposals nor had the ward councillors.

·         A member of the Foster family had said this proposal had been a ‘bombshell’ to them. As a descendant of the person who had gifted the park, he considered this proposal to be against the spirit of the gift and should be strongly resisted.

·         Green spaces such as the park were needed in built up areas.  There were brownfield sites that could be used.

A Member of the Committee stressed that they were present in the role of Trustee not as Councillors.

The Strategic Director noted that the Trustees would not be involved in the conveyancing process if the scheme did progress.

Members expressed the view that it would be acting in undue haste to go to the Charity Commission at this stage and that consultation on the potential benefit should take place before any decision was made. The residents of Queensbury should be asked whether they considered that it would be appropriate to dispose of part of this land on the basis that the proceeds would be used for the benefit of the inhabitants of Queensbury.

The Strategic Director undertook to obtain an estimate of the potential financial benefit that could be achieved through disposal and to bring this information back to the Trustees alongside the results of a consultation exercise. This would allow consideration of whether the monies achieved through disposal could be of greater benefit to the people of Queensbury than retention of the land.

Resolved –

That the Strategic Director – Place be requested to:

(i)         Undertake appropriate consultation with the inhabitants of Queensbury to ascertain their views on the potential disposal of part of Littlemoor Park, Queensbury on the basis that any proceeds would be used for their benefit, and

(ii)        Establish the potential financial benefit to the Trust of such action,

and to report back to the Trustees in due course.

ACTION:       Strategic Director - Place