Borough has applied to be represented at hearing
Campaigners outside Victoria Hall. Picture: Roger Green
Ealing Council has been accepted as a party to the Charity Tribunal court case that will decide the fate of the Victoria Hall leading to accusations that it is ‘muscling in’ on the process.
The Friends of Victoria Hall (FoVH) have condemned the council for making the application to be a second respondent in the case arguing that it presents an unresolvable conflict of interest.
In April 2021, the Friends of the Victoria Hall (FoVH) appealed to the Charity Tribunal to prevent the Charity Commission from allowing the Council to change the rules of the Victoria Hall Trust so that it can take over its property which was gifted for the benefit of the local community in 1893.
The FoVH believes that Ealing Council did not originally plan to be represented at the tribunal but opted to do so at a late stage when it learnt that the Commission was not intending to put up any witnesses at the hearing. It believes that the decision to do this was taken a ‘secret’ meeting of the charitable Trust’s committee in September from which the public was excluded.
In July 2016 Ealing Council entered into an agreement with a developer to sell off the Town Hall on a 250-year lease to turn it into a luxury hotel. The deal included the Victoria Hall which accounts for over 20% of the property and which belongs to the Victoria Hall Trust, not the Council.
Roger Green, the Chair of FoVH said, ‘The Council’s very late request to oppose the appeal looks likely to drag out further a farrago of a process that’s already been going on for five years.
‘Not only will this be at considerable expense in legal fees to council taxpayers but it will inevitably delay even longer the time when the people of Ealing will once more be able to use the facilities that the Victoria Hall benefactors bestowed on them.‘
FoVH initiated its court action in April and its says it was only on 1 October that the Director of Legal Services at the Council wrote to ask whether the appellants had any objection to their application to join the Tribunal.
Mr Green said, ‘We had an idea that something was going on as the Charity Commission had failed to submit their case to the Tribunal by the due date, and then there was that ‘secret’ meeting of the Victoria Hall Charitable Trust in mid-September. Now we know what they were up to and there’s a clear conflict of interest.’
As well as their role within Ealing Council, the Director of Legal Services also advises the Council’s Victoria Hall ‘Trust’ on legal matters which FoVH believes will create confusion at the tribunal.
A council spokesperson said,“The council, acting in its capacity as the sole Trustee of the Victoria Hall, has been grateful to have been granted permission to join into the proceedings and is currently preparing evidence for submission to the Tribunal. The Victoria Hall Trust Committee (which includes 5 elected Councillors and 3 independent Trustees) has considered all options available to the Trust and have determined that the Trust should support the Council’s proposal to redevelop the Town Hall in partnership with Mastcraft, on the basis that this is the best option to secure a sustainable and long-term future for the Victoria Hall Trust and the local people it serves. Earlier this year, the Charity Commission took the decision to support the Trust’s position.”
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November 5, 2021
