Management Committees and Parish Council Trusteeship

Question

Our parish council is the managing trustee of a charity established to manage our recreation ground (through a gift of land originally bequeathed in trust to the parish in the 1940s). There is a management committee in place to deal with the day-to-day management of the ground. For a variety of reasons, the management committee want the playground in our park to be moved to another location in our ward - against the wishes of the trustees.  They are insistent that as the 'managing' committee they have the power and authority to do this.  The trust deed which established the charity is silent on the actual role of the management committee - it says that the trustees 'manage and control' the trust property but also says the committee 'manage and control' the trust property'!  Can the management committee insist on the playground being moved?

Answer 1

If the Parish Council is the managing trustee, why is there another committee? Is this set out in the trust deed? There shouldn't be two managing bodies. A more common arrangement would be for the Parish Council to be a holding or custodian trustee, with day-to-day management carried out by a management committee.

Answer 2

Check the charity registration documents for definitive specifications of the two types of trustees. ( Management committee members can also be referred to as trustees). Normally the trustees are the signatories of the lease and responsible to ensure the terms are abided by. Other trustees or management committee should also have their reponsabilities specified in the document. If the removal of the play equipment contravenes the lease terms ( it may specify that it is for the housing of play equipment ) then holding trustees can block such a move as it contravenes the terms of the lease.

Investigation is required as those making the proposal may not have checked out all of the conditions.

Terms of the lease and terms of the charity can be two different matters and if not drafted well can cause conflict- I would say that the wishes of the holding trustees override that of the management committee. But you may need a lawyer U god help you)

Comments

If this is a conventional holding trustee / managing trustees arrangement, the holding trustee must act upon the instructions of the managing trustees. The role of the holding trustee is simply to hold the title on behalf of a body that lacks the legal power to do so, usually an unincorporated charity. Decisions are made by the managing trustees.

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It is a very old, poorly worded, document.  There are no specified responsibilities laid down for either the trustees or the management committee.  But the management committee are essentially saying they are 'managing trustees' even though this is not conferred to them in the trust deed.  Equally the deed does not say the council are custodian trustees.  In absence of guidance, we have reverted to Charity Commission guidance on the role of each but the management committee are refusing to concede that they cannot move the play park without trustee consent.

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Who signed the lease? is the next question and if not still around who was taken on as the signing trustees in replacement. They are there to ensure that the terms of the lease are adhered to by the management committee

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Freroch66 - I've sent you a private message.