Affordable housing trust accuses Church of keeping it 'in the dark' over sale of school in Arkengarthdale

Arkengarthdale C of E Primary School was forced to close last year after pupil numbers dwindled to just five, and the local parochial church council controversially accepted a £185,000 bid for the building from an anonymous property developer.

The Upper Dales Community Land Trust had already stated their intention to convert the school into affordable dwellings for local families, and were offered £150,000 from Richmondshire Council's housing fund to purchase the property.

The Church claimed that they were legally required to sell to the highest bidder.

Now, the Trust have accused the PCC of failing to inform them that under the same legal covenants, they could circumvent private offers and give the building to an organisation registered with the Charities Commission.

The Upper Dales Community Land Trust say that had they known this, they would have registered as a charity to secure their claim to the school and undercut other bids.

The trustees have now written an open letter to the Bishop of Leeds, the Rt Reverend Nick Baines, to ask him to block the sale on the moral basis that the parochial council's dealings were not transparent.

The Rt Reverend Baines has previously given a speech in the House of Lords raising awareness of the lack of affordable homes in the Yorkshire Dales, and the implications of the situation on the future sustainability of such communities.

The UDCLT state that they could have secured charitable status in a matter of months and that they would have paid for the upkeep of the building in the meantime, but that they had been 'kept in the dark' by the Church representatives who pushed through the deal.

They say there is 'considerable local opposition' to the commercial sale of the school, which was only worth the equivalent of around £23,000 when it was first purchased for the parish in 1933.

In an email to the UDCLT, Arkengarthdale with Swaledale PCC vice-chair Andrew Bedford said: “The PCC were made fully aware of the fact we could sell to another charity with purposes the same or similar, but not narrower, to our own, at less than best price. UDCLT are a not-for-profit company, not a charity, although you hoped to become one in the future, so this option was not available to us. Having charitable aims doesn’t make a company a charity. We therefore had to sell for the best price.”

He added that it would be 'morally wrong' to abort the sale 'at this late stage', despite mounting criticism and allegations of hypocrisy against the Church.

UDCLT chair Stephen Stubbs, a former pupil of the school, has called on Bishop Baines to review the case, reconsider the Trust’s offer and reveal the intended use of any proceeds from the sale.

“Why did the Church rush through this sale rather than give us time to register as a charity? Where there’s a will there’s a way, except where money is involved it would seem.

“We would have been willing to pay for the upkeep of the premises in the few months it would take to register as a charity. It makes all their grand expressions of concern about affordable homes in the community appear empty rhetoric.

“The extra £35,000 they made on the deal is a drop in the ocean compared to the reputational damage it is doing to the Church of England. Where is the morality in allowing the sale to proceed without providing us with vital facts and against the wishes of the community?”

“The court of public opinion is already considering whether the Church has practised what it preaches in this case and the indications point to a damning verdict.”

The office of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who has set up a commission in response to the housing crisis, suggested the UDCLT take the case up with the Diocese of Leeds.

Bishop Baines told the House of Lords in April 2016: “My diocese covers vast and diverse rural areas. The issue that is constantly raised by those who live there is affordable housing for their children.

“If we end up with small rural communities without young people in them, which in some cases is what is happening, we will have a problem 20, 30, 40 or 50 years down the line.”

A spokesperson for the Diocese of Leeds said: "The Bishop of Leeds will be responding to the letter in due course. At no stage was anything withheld from UDCLT as they have alleged.

"Moreover the offer letter from UDCLT expressly mentions the issue, saying that they had taken legal advice on whether the PCC was obliged to sell to the highest bidder. To now say they

were not aware of the issue or that the PCC had not been open with them is simply not true."

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