Two charities dissolved in Highgate Cemetery governance restructure

Governance | Celina Ribeiro | 15 Mar 2010

The charity Friends of Highgate Cemetery will take over the responsibilities of the two other charities which have managed the historic site following a vote to simplify the running of the cemetery and boost the diversity of its trustee board.

A meeting of Friends of Highgate Cemetery (FOHC) last week saw overwhelming support for the proposition that Highgate Cemetery Trust be dissolved and the FOHC take over its role. The charity also agreed to changes to the structure of the Highgate Cemetery Charity, which owns the cemetery land, with the result that FOHC will become the Charity’s sole trustee.

Following the high-profile resignation of its chairwoman Jean Pateman last summer after more than three decades in post, members agreed to restrict the length of time a trustee can serve to six years. The number of trustees on the board will also increase from nine to 12.

In a statement on the charity’s website, chair Tom Richardson said that the Charity Commission had been involved in discussions with the three charities’ trustees since FOHC’s annual general meeting in April last year. The Commission has expressed support for the new structure of management at Highgate Cemetery as a more cost-effective option.

Richardson said that a charity law firm had also been engaged in the lead-up to last week’s vote to explore governance structure options.

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