Hargrave - Suffolk
In this order: “the Act or Acts” means any acts or decisions made by the Persons acting as Trustees in the administration of the Charity between the Appointment Date and the date of this order; “Appointment Date” means 19 April 2024; “the Charity” means Hargrave Village Hall (247718); “the Governing Document” and “the 1926 Deed” means the conveyance dated 20 June 1926; “the Persons” mean Jill Upton; Simon de Laat; Roger Graham Sudbury and David John Taylor who were appointed as the Managing Trustees of the Charity on the Appointment Date; “the Parish Council” means Hargrave Parish Council; “the 1973 Deed” means the Deed of Appointment and Retirement entered into in accordance with the Trustee Act 1925 on 2 February 1973; “the Custodian Trustee” means the Parish Council appointed as such by the 1973 Deed; “the Qualifying Position” means a Managing Trustee of the Charity and if more than one the “Qualifying Positions”;
“Trustee or Trustees” means the persons meeting the definition of charity trustees in s177 of the Charities Act 2011 (as amended); and “the Management Committee“ means persons appointed to the management committee by the Custodian Trustee between 2 February 1973 and the Appointment Date. Whereas A. The Charity was established by charitable gift pursuant to a conveyance dated 20 June 1926. B. Clause 6 of the 1926 Deed provides that the power to appoint new Trustees conferred by the Trustee Act 1925 applies. C. In accordance with the Trustee Act 1925 the 1973 Deed was entered into with the intended effect (as evidenced in Recital 3 of the 1973 Deed) that: “The Retiring Trustees are desirous of retiring from the said trusts and of appointing the Council to be the Trustee of the Conveyance in their place”. D. The 1973 Deed gave effect to the retirement of the Trustees, however it appointed the Parish Council as Custodian Trustee rather than as Trustee. E. The persons appointed to the Management Committee following the 1973 Deed were appointed by the Parish Council, which considered itself to be the Trustee but was in fact the Custodian Trustee. F. On the Appointment Date the Persons were appointed by the Parish Council as the management committee for the Charity and raised a question as to the legal nature of their role under the Governing Document. G. The Parish Council reconsidered the 1973 Deed and acknowledged that the 1973 Deed appointed the Parish Council as Custodian Trustee only and not as Trustee. It also confirmed that in its view, following its reconsideration of the effect of the 1973 Deed, the Persons are the Trustees of the Charity. H. The Persons appointed on the Appointment Date have acknowledged by letter dated 21 June 2024 that on review of the 1973 Deed they consider themselves to be the Trustees. I. An order of the Commission under s.184B is required to: Authorised number:
a. confirm the appointment of the Persons as Trustees for the future administration of the Charity; and b. provide that any Act or Acts of the Persons are valid. J. The Persons and the Parish Council have each provided written consent to the making of this Order. ORDER 1. On or after the date of this order, for the purposes of anything done or not done by the Persons: (a) any defect in the appointment of each of the Persons as a Trustee is to be ignored in relation to the Charity (b) so far as is necessary for those purposes a valid appointment as Trustee is treated as having been made on the Appointment Date in respect of the Persons. 2. The Acts are valid notwithstanding that there was not at the time of the Acts a valid appointment of the Persons to the Qualifying Position but (a) this order validates the Acts of the Persons only to the extent that the invalidity was caused by the defective or potentially defective appointment to the Qualifying Position and (b) nothing in this order impacts innocently accrued third party rights.
The Commission proposes to make an Order (a legal document) for this charity. The Order will validate the appointments of the trustees and the actions of the Parish Council in respect of the charity. A copy of the Order can be seen at www.charitycommission.gov.uk/our-regulatory-work/how-to-comment-on-a-scheme/schemes-and-orders
(If you cannot access this please call our contact centre on 0300 066 9197). Comments or representations on these proposals can be made to the Commission within 28 days from 2nd May 2025 by completing the form on our website. Please quote NM C-131141.
