The Charity Commission has launched a decision review into a scheme it produced to change the governance of a charity struggling to make a decision on the use of its land, after over 1,800 responses were made in relation to the decision.

In a long-running local battle, the trustees of Bath Recreation Ground, the local authority, were left under great pressure to decide whether to allow Bath Rugby Club, which rented land from the charity for its grounds, to expand further into the land. Locals were divided, with some concerned about the loss of views and useable land, and the trustees were unable to make a decision, leading to the Charity Commission publishing a statutory inquiry in 2008. The regulator ordered a new scheme for the charity, which called for a new body of independent trustees to take over to make the decision.

The new trustee board was to comprise of two trustees nominated by Bath and North East Somerset Council, one nominated from a charity user group, one nominated by Fields in Trust, one nominated by Somerset County Playing Fields Association and two co-opted trustees.

The Commission's scheme, which undertook a consultation period last year, received 1,868 representations from interested parties, with 244 objections. While this was a minority, the Charity Commission was still obliged to undertake a decision review, which began yesterday.

The Commission has appointed Neil Robertson, head of operations in Taunton, to lead the review as an 'independent' who despite being a member of the Commission's senior management team, has not been involved with the decision on the scheme.

The review will be open only to those who have already submitted representations to the scheme's consultation, asking for those who wish to modify their original entries to get in touch with the Commission before Friday 1 March. Once the appetite for amendment has been ascertained, the Commission will decide whether the reviewer will undertake face-to-face or telephone discussions with respondents. 

The review is expected to take three months, completing at the end of April. 

 

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