Charity defends selling community centre for £650k

Politicians have called for The Bridge Community Centre to be given away for free rather than sold

A charity claims it cannot give away its closed Hastings community centre due to "strict laws and guidelines".

Hastings and Rye MP Helena Dollimore had appealed for the Parchment Trust to return The Bridge Community Centre "back to public hands".

The charity was given the centre in 2018 but is yet to open it and has listed it for sale with a £650,000 asking price.

In response to calls for the site to be given away for free, the charity said: "If we chose to simply give it away, trustees may be in breach of their legal obligations."

The Parchment Trust, which provides day services to disabled adults, said it had wanted to open "the UK's first community centre run by disabled people for the benefit of the whole community" at The Bridge.

The trust abandoned the plan in June despite having "invested lots" to repair the building.

Transferring site ownership was "an extremely lengthy" process that did not complete until 2024, according to the charity.

The building is subject to covenants requiring its use for community purposes.

'Shocking'

Hastings Borough Council deputy leader Julia Hilton said the Parchment Trust was "already in breach of this covenant as the building has remained closed since finally transferring to their ownership".

Council leader Glenn Haffenden said it was "shocking" the building was for sale after it was "funded by public money and gifted to the Parchment Trust".

Other community groups won't be able to raise the money to buy the site, he claimed.

In an update on Wednesday, the Parchment Trust said its trustees were legally required to "get the very best terms they reasonably can".

The charity said legal advice it received was that it should "recover" its investment in The Bridge "through a sale".

An independent valuation led to the asking price, according to the statement.

Trustees committed to "do our very best to find a community-minded owner" but said they had "a duty to fulfil our legal obligations for the benefit of our charity which serves disabled people in Hastings".