Ex Wicksteed trustees blow whistle to charities regulator
Amid the fallout of a string of cancelled concerts, NN Journal can reveal former trustees have whistleblown to the Charity Commission
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By Sarah Ward
Complaints have been made to the Charity Commission by former trustees of the Wicksteed Charitable Trust amid concerns about how the charity is operating.
NN Journal can exclusively reveal that four former trustees, who have left the board of the charitable trust over the past several months, have subsequently made official reports to the regulator.
The Charity Commission, which independently regulates charities, has given a statement which says:
“We are aware of concerns in relation to the Wicksteed Charitable Trust and are currently assessing information to inform our next steps. We cannot comment further at this time.”
Wicksteed Charitable Trust, which owns the land and assets of the the 100-year-old Kettering theme park and is chaired by Oliver Wicksteed, grandson of the park’s founder, has issued a statement to say it is aware of the complaint and if the charity regulator decides to investigate it will cooperate.
A spokesman said:
“We are aware that a complaint about the Wicksteed Charitable Trust has been made to the Charity Commission.
“If the Charity Commission decides that this matter warrants investigation we shall, of course, cooperate fully.
“We are unable to comment further on the matter at this stage.”
The complaints were made prior to the recent concert ticket fiasco which has engulfed the historic park and are not related to the concert issue. The former trustees, three of whom have spoken with NN Journal, made the reports under a whistleblowing procedure after resigning from their positions.
Prior to their departures they had raised their concerns with the trustee board.
A trustee's role in a charity is to make sure that all decisions put the needs of the beneficiaries first. They safeguard the charity's assets – both physical assets, including property, and intangible ones, such as its reputation. A major part of the voluntary role is ensuring the charity complies with its own governing document and also acts within charity law.
Sanctions available to the Charity Commission if it decides to investigate and finds the trust has acted outside of the rules governing charities, could include removing directors from the trust.
As reported extensively by the Northants Telegraph in recent weeks, the park has found itself embroiled in a scandal after the Coventry-based promoter it joined forces with to organise concerts in its grounds, went bust, leaving many customers without a refund.
There has been local outcry and the reputation of the popular park has been somewhat damaged after M&B Promotions went into administration at short notice.
The promoters had promised big name acts, including Kettering comic James Acaster, Jason Manford and Craig David at a series of concerts that had been scheduled during 2020, last year and this year. But none of the acts have ever made it to the Wicksteed stage and many customers are still awaiting a refund from their bank or payment provider. Wicksteed has said it did not receive any money from the promoters before they went into liquidation and shared the frustrations of out of pocket customers.
The park entered an agreement with the M&B Promotions after its trading arm Wicksteed Park Ltd had gone into administration in June 2020 amid the first wave of the Covid pandemic. At the time Oliver Wicksteed, said the trading arm, which made an £820,000 loss in 2018/19 had not been able to capitalise on recent investments in the park and had not been ‘coronavirus proof’.
An online crowdfund by park supporters raised more than £100,000 and a new trading company was set up, which is chaired by long standing Wicksteed trustee Robert Hunt.
The Grade II listed park was founded by ride maker Charles Wicksteed in 1916 and the aim of its charitable trust is to provide recreation and leisure activities in the interest of social welfare for local people.
In order to keep running, in recent years the trust has sold off assets, including land in nearby Barton Seagrave for a multi million pound figure, which has now been developed into housing by Redrow Homes.
There are also plans in the offing for a 200 retirement village within the parkland, which is being developed by New Chapter Villages.
Last year Oliver Wicksteed said the scheme was about the survival of the park and would generate income.
The park also leases out land it owns in Barton Seagrave for a popular pocket park (called Wallis’s Spinney). The parish council, which has the lease, is in current negotiations with the trust about extending the lease, which runs out at the end of this year.
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