June issue - Magazine - Page 13
Glenside
News
GlensideNews@mail.com
COMMUNITY
Report on Careby, Aunby and Holywell
Parish Meeting AGM
The Careby Aunby and Holywell Parish Meeting AGM
was held in May. A range of issues were dealt with but the
subject generating the most debate related to the Village
Hall (VH).
In 2021 the chair of the Parish Meeting (PM) passed
from Barbara Cooper, who was also chair of the VH
Trustees, to Nino D'Anna, and in 2023 to Dave Bryant.
Since 2021 the PM has tried to help resolve the conflicts
created in the parish by the approach taken by the Trustees
to renovate the long-abandoned Village Hall.
interest in the building, the cover was not valid and the
PM's insurers indicated that this addition could have
the effect of invalidating the PM insurance.
Ÿ
Concern that substantial public funds had been used for
the renovation, with questionable justification. Some
£80k (exact amount unknown due to lack of published
accounts) of largely public funds from SKDC and the
National Lottery were used to serve a parish population
of just 150 people, more than half of whom live in
outlying areas. The reasons for SKDC's enthusiasm for
the project have never been clear but the PM is of the
opinion that the hall was never likely to be used for
most of the activities claimed in the grant applications.
There have been very few parish social events since the
hall was opened and none to date in 2025.
Ÿ
Failure to publish complete and consistent financial
information to residents represented by the PM and the
Charity Commission.
At this year's AGM, the PM was pleased to be able to
establish the following unanimously agreed resolution to
allow it to move past this matter:
“The Parish Meeting recognises that, despite the
persistent efforts of the Parish Meeting Chair, it has
proved impossible to resolve the outstanding issues, due
to the lack of any engagement by the Village Hall
Trustees. Accordingly, the Parish Meeting will not
engage further on this matter with the Village Hall
Trustees.”
This was far from the outcome desired by the PM but,
although not a satisfactory conclusion, it was a conclusion
none the less.
For the purposes of clarification, the key issues from
the standpoint of the PM have been:
Ÿ
An apparent lack of any democratic process amongst
residents represented by the PM to determine what
should have been done with the long-abandoned VH.
Ÿ
The creation of a charity to take control of the VH and
renovate it without reference to the community covered
by the PM. The charity was established with a model
constitution resulting in the initial Trustees being selfappointed and subsequent Trustees being appointed by
the existing Trustees. The Trustees are the only members
of the charity, and the constitution provides no rights for
other parish residents to have any input on VH matters.
Ÿ
Ÿ
Failure, or unwillingness, to explain any legal process
that was followed to enable a newly formed charity to
claim ownership of the building. This is a PM concern
as it may mean there is no valid insurance in place,
including public liability cover.
The fact that at one point the VH was added to the
PM's insurance, with the costs charged to the PM,
without its approval. As the PM has no insurable
Since 2021 the PM has taken the approach of attempting
to get the issues out in the open, address the problems and
seek sensible resolutions. Unfortunately, the VH Trustees
have chosen not to co-operate with this approach, although
some issues have been resolved after much effort.
In October 2024 the Chair of the PM made a proposal
to the VH Trustees that the two organisations work
together to resolve the most important outstanding issues
before the May 2025 AGM. The proposal included the
suggestion that the two Chairs should jointly present how
the long-running disagreements had been settled and, to
demonstrate this, the AGM should be held in the VH.
Unfortunately, the VH Trustees chose not to respond to
the proposal, or any follow-ups made over a three-month
period. Consequently, the PM passed the resolution quoted
above at the AGM. This was not the outcome sought by
the PM and leaves the issues unresolved. It is feared that
the acrimony in the parish will remain under the surface.
However, it's hoped that parking the issues and ending
discussions between the two organisations will lower the
temperature and reduce some of the friction that exists in
the parish.
There is documented support in the PM's files for all of
the PM's statements in this matter. To promote the
transparency that the PM has delivered in all matters over
the past four years, the PM Chair will make the files
available for inspection by request.
Dave Bryant, Chair
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