The Charity Commission has received a serious incident report and is investigating the controversial planned sale of the Newby and Scalby Community Hall to a private company.
The Charity Commission has confirmed that it is looking into concerns about the controversial sale of a community hall in North Yorkshire.
A serious incident report has been received by the Charity Commission in relation to a trust that is planning to sell the Newby and Scalby Community Hall near Scarborough to a private company.
Residents have strongly objected to the sale of the community hall, which was announced last month by the trustees of Newby and Scalby Community Hall Trust, following an informal tender.
The hall – which could become Wilson’s Food & Community Hall – was advertised at £300,000, and concerns have been raised about a lack of consultation with the local community and about whether the price represents good value for money.
A Charity Commission spokesperson said:
“We can confirm that we have received an application in relation to the potential sale of Scalby Parish Hall. Charity trustees are bound by a legal fiduciary duty to act in good faith and exclusively in the best interests of their charity – at times this might mean taking unpopular and difficult decisions.
“We will consider the application made against the principles set out in our guidance on trustee decision-making and disposing of land.”
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), the spokesperson added:
“We are separately assessing concerns raised with us about Newby and Scalby Community Hall Trust to determine if there is any regulatory role for the Commission.
“In line with our guidance, we have received a serious incident report from the charity relating to concerns about the sale of the hall. We continue to engage with the charity.”
The Newby and Scalby Community Hall Trust said the hall’s sale would secure its future and create new opportunities to support the local community and that any money generated would remain within the trust and would be “managed responsibly and transparently”.
However, local campaigners have argued that the sale destroys the charity’s core purpose and have demanded the immediate resignation of the current trustees, citing “poor governance, broken promises regarding the surrounding land, and a severe trust gap” with residents.
Earlier this month, North Yorkshire Council officially recognised the hall and its associated car park and green open space as an asset of community value (ACV), which means that the owners cannot dispose of it without waiting until the end of a six-month “full moratorium” period if a community interest group asks to be treated as a potential bidder.
Charities can decide to submit a ‘report of serious incident’ to the Charity Commission for a range of reasons, which include loss of money or assets, damage to property, or harm to the charity’s work or reputation.
The commission’s assessment of those reports looks at if a charity is handling the incident in the way it would expect.
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