British Legion accused of ‘selling off the family silver’
Veterans’ fury as clubs are sold by charity for new houses
ROYAL British Legion has been accused of ‘selling off the family silver’ by closing clubhouses around the country and handing them over to housing developers.
Clubs sold against the wishes of veterans and local communities – sometimes at knock-down prices – are being turned into flats or luxury homes, with war memorials uprooted or relocated.
One clubhouse was even taken over by German supermarket chain Aldi.
The Legion’s actions have now sparked a rebellion among the members it relies upon to raise millions of pounds each year from selling poppies.
Major Donald Moore, 84, a former branch president, is among those campaigning in Llay, near Wrexham, over plans to turn the club’s car park into a shop and 51 homes. He said: ‘The property is meant to be retained in perpetuity for the benefit of Llay and district.
‘The car park is the location of the war memorial and, on Remembrance Sunday, it’s jam-packed. It should be retained.’
Initial plans for the site were rejected last year but a revised scheme has been approved.
Major Moore, who spent 25 years in the Army and Colonial Police, serving with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and Army Air Corps, said while he still believes the Legion is ‘a remarkable organisation’, he accused the charity’s bosses of ‘asset stripping’.
‘They are selling off the family silver. They are getting rid of sites on a continual basis with seemingly little thought for communities. When they sold a former club nearby in Buckley, it was replaced by a German supermarket even though the war memorial still stands outside. How crass is that?’
In the village of Tarporley, Cheshire – where detached houses sell for close to £1million – the Legion is believed to have received just £230,000 from a property developer for the clubhouse, who plans to turn it into at least ten homes. Gill Clough, vice-chairman of Tarporley Parish Council, said: ‘People in the village did not want more housing. To have sold it for that amount, given property values in the area, seems scandalous.’
In Long Ashton, Somerset, there is anger at a decision to sell the Legion club for housing, even though it is listed as a ‘Community Asset of Value’ and there had been a campaign by residents to buy it.
Instead, it is set to be replaced with nine houses, despite more than 50 objections – including from the parish council.
Charles Cave, a former Royal British Legion member and district councillor for Long Ashton, said: ‘The Legion is behaving in an entirely commercial way with their assets and have not really considered local interests.’
While the Royal British Legion would not comment about individual cases, a spokesman said: ‘Unfortunately, some clubs are under increasing financial pressure and as a result may have to close. When this happens, the Legion reviews the various options for the future use of the building in line with the Charities Act and local beneficiary need.
‘As part of this there is also a dialogue with the local club and Legion membership. In some cases the buildings are sold, as they are no longer fulfilling their charitable purpose and the funds would be better spent serving the people we support.’