Issue - meetings

Consideration was given to a report which provided an update on the activities following the previous Charitable Trust Committee meeting held in September 2018 which included the result of the consultation and an independent valuation prepared on behalf of the Charity.  The Committee was asked, after noting the results of the consultation and independent valuation advice, to provide authority for officers to proceed with the proposed land swap.

The background to the site and current position were outlined in the report.  Legal officers had taken steps to formally register the subject charity with the Charity Commission.  As the Charity did not generate an income in excess of £5,000 and there were no ‘exceptional circumstances’, the trust could not be registered. 

Consultation had been undertaken which included site notices and a notice in the Manchester Evening News.  A written representation was provided and included at Appendix 3 of the report. 

Members sought and received clarification on the car park, how it contributed to the park and the terms of the deed.  Members also sought and received clarification on the representations received.  Car parking in the area was at a premium.  Any development would be addressed through a planning application. There was a desire for provision of parking to support the park.  The formal recreational areas of the park would be safeguarded and through any discussions of redevelopment of the former Our Lady’s site, S.106 funding would be investigated and the adjoining park could be an obvious beneficiary.

Options Considered

1.         The Committee could choose to do nothing and not proceed with the swap.

2.         The Committee could choose to accept the advice contained in the independent surveyor’s report that it would be in the financial interest of the Trust to proceed with the swap.

RESOLVED that:

1.         The position related to the formal registration of the charity with the Charity Commission be noted.

2.         The responses received following the consultation under S.121 of the Charities Act into the land swap proposal were fully considered.  Members considered that the proposed land swap would be in the best interests of the charitable trust because the land to be exchanged is an area of the park which is most intensively used for recreation.

3.         The contents of the independent valuation report prepared in accordance with the Charities (Qualified Surveyors’ Reports) Regulations 1992 in respect to the two areas of land due for possible inclusion within any land swap proposals be noted.

4.         Council officers be authorised to apply for an order from the Charity Commission for a disposal to a connected person so that the land swap could be completed.