Manor sale cash ‘used properly’ say charity chiefs

DOMINIC MOFFITT

THE money raised by the sale of Chaigley Manor was used properly, say The Charity Commission, in a letter penned to the MP for Hyndburn.

Concern and controversy have dogged the Chaigley Manor Trust (which became To Inspire in 2009) after the charity placed £625,000 into a trust, promising to leave the lump sum alone and to only utilise the interest generated for charitable exploits.

Chaigley Manor Trust, a Hyndburn institution, planned to leave the £625,000 but the charity failed to produce financial records to the charity commission for several years, as we reported last week.

Now, three years on from an investigation in 2017, following renewed calls from Hyndburn MP Sara Britcliffe, the commission say that the £625,000 (which was generated from the sale of the Chaigley Manor House in 2001) was used in line with the charity’s objectives.

A letter, penned to Ms Britcliffe from Neil Robertson, head of technical casework at the Charity Commission, read: “We have sought updated accounts from the charity, as well as from their former accountant. The charity has provided limited draft accounts, but did not formally submit these and their annual returns to the Commission.

“Instead, we have used our powers to seek information from the charity’s bank and to request what documentation the charity still holds. This information has helped us determine that the proceeds of the Manor’s sale were used to further the charitable purposes of the charity in line with its objects.”

Despite these latest claims, the Charity Commission say they will continue to investigate the charity and are “examining long-running and complex issues, arising from poor governance within the charity.”

The Charity Commission letter continued: “We also expect the trustees to ensure that the remaining funds of the sale are spent locally in line with the charity’s objects. We are also considering what sanctions we may use.”

But Ms Britcliffe told the Observer that the letter brings up more questions than answers.

She intends to write back to the Charity Commission in order to find out how much money is still tied up in the Chaigley Manor Trust and how those funds can be spent to benefit the residents of Hyndburn.

“There’s quite a few questions that now have to be raised,” she said.

“This letter from the Charity Commission has not appeased anyone involved and interested in the Chaigley Manor Trust case and I will be replying back to them.

“It is very much a matter of; what are the remaining funds? How are the commission going to comply with spending the money locally? How do we enforce that compliance? And what is the time scale for this to happen? It is all very well using the funds for Hyndburn, but that could be in six months or six years. There’s a few things that need clearing up.”