I was waiting for Jonty's view of the proceedings before commenting, but it seems he could't attend. Maybe the limit of three questions per person and the requirement to give your name and where you live put him off. I will stick to the Putney Hospital issue if you don't mind, but there were of course other matters discussed.
This is a rather long posting.
It was a somewhat fraught evening from my point of view. Lots of ex-Conservators and their supporters, many residents from Wimbledon who are just plain fed up with the whole Putney Hospital circus (who can blame them?) and only a sprinkling of Putney residents prepared to ask direct questions. Unfortunately John's away on business in India. Prue Whyte, the new Chairman, seemed a bit out of her depth, looking to Sir Ian Andrews and Simon Lee on either side of her when faced with any question that might take a contrary view to the majority of the board.
I asked three questions of the board:
1) As it has been confirmed that the charity breached Sections 117-121 of the Charities Act 2011, why have the three appointed Conservators in post at the time not resigned or recused themselves.
Answer: from Ian Andrews and Derek Falmer. They were not conflicted. The charity had legal advice saying they weren't. [I wasn't able to respond, but of course the advice they keep quoting was given by BWB in May/June before the law breaking had definitely been established. The same advice said the possible conflicts would need to be revisited].
2) The charity already has a retrospective QSR from Montagu Evans LLP which cost £25,000. The Charity Commission letter (just released) stipulates that the board appoint an appropriate valuer to establish if there was a loss. Why not put any concerns the board has regarding taking into account the "special circumstances" and save a great deal of money?
Answer: sort of muddled. They were in negotiation with Marcus Evans and they couldn't comment. They would be obtaining a new QSR from someone else. When would it be available? Derek Falmer claimed January 2016. This is extremely unlikely.
3) The charity had made public statements saying that Charity had received advice from their retained solicitor and a senior partner from a firm of Chartered Surveyors. What advice? I had viewed all the files and there was no such advice on valuation apart from that in 2008 of £775,000. Why had they therefore sold the access to WPCT for £250,000 and then WBC for £350,000?
Answer: no real answers to this.
A resident (Robin Healey I think) asked if they had any idea who might be liable if a loss was confirmed. He said that unless they had some idea of where recompense might come from, what was the point of spending yet more money? A good question I thought. The board sheltered behind the "we need to consult lawyers first" excuse. The answer as to liability is of course: 1) The Trustees in post at the time the easement was signed in August 2014, including IA, DF and RT), and possibly their professional advisers if they gave wrong advice. The charity has a Trustee Liability Insurance policy, as will Gregsons and Drivers Jonas. I tried to respond to Mr Healey but was prevented from doing so ("Sit down" they shouted.).
David Devons read out a long statement justifying his actions, saying the 2010 deal was a crucial part of understanding the price received, and read out a large chunk of text from the Judge's summing up from the Judicial review. I think he genuinely believes a lot of this, although he is being a little selective in his quotations. I was unable to respond at the time, but would have said that the board could put his concerns to Montagu Evans. If there were any existing rights of way from 1871 they were not the ones incorporated into the development, the 2010 deal was a sham deal for a planning proposal that had already been cancelled.
Norman Plaistow commented that Mr Evans had already cost the charity £120,000 in legal fees for the Judicial Review and Appeal proceedings, had spent £25,000 on a QSR and had now resigned. Why? I explained that I had been prevented from acting openly and transparently, and quoted the way Keith Luck had prevented discussion and requests for board meetings. Mr Plaistow also mentioned that the election for a replacement would cost £45,000. See below.
I did enjoy the moment when a journalist asked Simon Lee if he had signed the easement which confirmed that the charity had complied with Sections 117-121 of the Charities Act which required a QSR. He squirmed for a moment and then replied that he was unable to confirm if there was such a clause in the agreement. Of course there is, also a letter he signed to the Charity Commission in January 2015 which he seems to have forgotten.
Jonathan Callaway (Putney) pointed out to Sir Ian Andrews and the other appointed Trustees that the Charity Commission provisions for Trustees say they should recuse themselves if they were "perceived" to be conflicted in any way. They needed to be very careful that all the decisions they were currently taking may be challenged. He got the "we have legal advice" reply. I would have commented that they also seemed to be ignoring the Code of Conduct they's signed. But I'd used up all my questions. Jonathan also asked if they could provide more regular update, perhaps monthly, on how the "action plan" was proceeding. They mumbled a reply that maybe their new website (long overdue, but now slated for 15 December) might be used.
There were a number of other questions, so forgive me if this is not a complete or verbatim account. I believe minutes will be published in due course
It seems the election to replace me will cost £45,000 as I said above. Maybe Prue Whyte and Keith Luck could resign and we could have three new Conservators for the price of one election. A sort of Black Friday election. Keith is a mate of Sir Ian Andrews, and Prue Whyte is just plain misguided and seems to have lost the plot. They both have supported the cover-up all along.
Inevitably this is a subjective view, but I hope it gives some idea of the event. It's sad that the misdeeds over the sale of access are overshadowing much else that needs to be done, and I don't mean just the running of the Common on a day to day basis which is still very good.
You probably know why I resigned. More of the reasons for my withdrawal will come out over time. They will not make pretty reading. The insincere protestations of wanting to be "open and transparent" while endeavouring to sweep everything under the carpet (or should that be a pile of leaf mould?) continue apace. Everyone should remember the basic facts that they threw away £1.55m of levy-payers money, and broke the law.
All power to Shirley Gillbe and John Cameron who remain on the board despite all of this.
Nick |
| Topic | Date Posted | Posted By |
| Next Conservator's meeting | 26/11/15 15:08:00 | Katrina Black |
| Re:Next Conservator's meeting | 29/11/15 10:56:00 | John Cameron |
| Re:Re:Next Conservator's meeting | 29/11/15 11:14:00 | David Austin |
| Re:Next Conservator's meeting | 29/11/15 15:37:00 | Katrina Black |
| Re:Re: Should they spend another £25,000 | 30/11/15 18:40:00 | Nicholas Evans |
| Re:Re:Re: Should they spend another £25,000 | 30/11/15 19:11:00 | Caroline Whitehead |
| Re:Re:Re:Re: Should they spend another £25,000 | 30/11/15 20:22:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Should they spend another £25,000 | 30/11/15 20:26:00 | Nicholas Evans |
| Re:Re:Re:Re: Should they spend another £25,000 | 30/11/15 20:24:00 | Nicholas Evans |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Should they spend another £25,000 | 30/11/15 20:37:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Should they spend another £25,000 | 30/11/15 21:07:00 | Nicholas Evans |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Should they spend another £25,000 | 30/11/15 20:51:00 | Caroline Whitehead |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Should they spend another £25,000 | 30/11/15 22:06:00 | Sue Hammond |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Should they spend another £25,000 | 30/11/15 23:10:00 | Caroline Whitehead |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Should they spend another £25,000 | 30/11/15 22:21:00 | Nicholas Evans |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Should they spend another £25,000 | 01/12/15 05:16:00 | Chantal Blake-Milton |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Should they spend another £25,000 | 01/12/15 08:34:00 | David Austin |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Should they spend another £25,000 | 01/12/15 08:57:00 | Sue Hammond |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Should they spend another £25,000 | 01/12/15 10:02:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Should they spend another £25,000 | 01/12/15 10:34:00 | Nicholas Evans |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Should they spend another £25,000 | 01/12/15 11:44:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Should they spend another £25,000 | 01/12/15 10:48:00 | Sue Hammond |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Should they spend another £25,000 | 01/12/15 11:22:00 | David Austin |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Should they spend another £25,000 | 01/12/15 11:59:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Should they spend another £25,000 | 01/12/15 13:39:00 | Nicholas Evans |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Should they spend another £25,000 | 01/12/15 13:58:00 | Sue Hammond |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Should they spend another £25,000 | 01/12/15 14:39:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Should they spend another £25,000 | 01/12/15 14:47:00 | Nicholas Evans |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Should they spend another £25,000 | 01/12/15 15:06:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Should they spend another £25,000 | 01/12/15 11:48:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Should they spend another £25,000 | 01/12/15 12:14:00 | David Austin |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Should they spend another £25,000 | 01/12/15 12:24:00 | Caroline Whitehead |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Should they spend another £25,000 | 01/12/15 14:03:00 | Nicholas Evans |
| Just ask nicely | 01/12/15 12:28:00 | Chantal Blake-Milton |
| Re:Just ask nicely | 01/12/15 14:44:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re:Just ask nicely | 01/12/15 15:02:00 | Sue Hammond |
| Just ask nicely | 02/12/15 12:21:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| WPCC news release | 02/12/15 13:23:00 | Adrian Pearce |
| Re:Just ask nicely | 02/12/15 13:24:00 | Jonathan Callaway |
| Re:Re:Just ask nicely | 02/12/15 14:09:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re:Re:Just ask nicely | 02/12/15 14:20:00 | Nicholas Evans |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Just ask nicely | 02/12/15 14:53:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re:Re: Roehampton Vale land | 02/12/15 14:24:00 | Adam Gray |
| Re:Re:Re:Re: Roehampton Vale land | 02/12/15 15:53:00 | Nicholas Evans |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Roehampton Vale land | 02/12/15 23:11:00 | Adam Gray |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Roehampton Vale land | 02/12/15 23:43:00 | David Ainsworth |
| Stag Lane v Putney Common (again) | 03/12/15 01:29:00 | John Cameron |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Roehampton Vale land | 03/12/15 01:38:00 | Adam Gray |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Roehampton Vale land | 03/12/15 02:28:00 | John Cameron |
| Sorry to Miss Tonight's Meeting But.... | 02/12/15 14:23:00 | John Cameron |
| Re: Disconnect | 02/12/15 14:41:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re: Disconnect | 02/12/15 14:58:00 | John Cameron |
| Re:Re:Re: Disconnect | 02/12/15 15:40:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re:Re:Re: Disconnect | 02/12/15 16:06:00 | Nicholas Evans |
| Re:Re:Re:Re: Disconnect | 02/12/15 16:16:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re: Disingenuous cover-ups | 02/12/15 15:25:00 | Nicholas Evans |
| Re:Re:Re: Disingenuous | 02/12/15 15:38:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re:Re:Re: Disingenuous | 02/12/15 15:55:00 | Nicholas Evans |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Disingenuous | 02/12/15 16:15:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Disingenuous | 02/12/15 16:17:00 | Sue Hammond |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Disingenuous | 02/12/15 16:18:00 | Sue Hammond |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Disingenuous | 02/12/15 16:42:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Disingenuous | 02/12/15 16:57:00 | Nicholas Evans |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Disingenuous | 02/12/15 17:00:00 | Sue Hammond |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Disingenuous | 02/12/15 17:17:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Disingenuous | 02/12/15 17:41:00 | Sue Hammond |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Disingenuous | 03/12/15 08:27:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Disingenuous | 03/12/15 09:21:00 | Chantal Blake-Milton |
| Re: Pillock | 03/12/15 09:28:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re: Pillock | 03/12/15 09:34:00 | Chantal Blake-Milton |
| Re:Re:Re: Pillock | 03/12/15 10:04:00 | Matt Palmer |
| Re:Re:Re: Pillock | 03/12/15 10:10:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re: Pillock | 03/12/15 10:08:00 | Sue Hammond |
| Re:Re:Re: Pillock | 03/12/15 10:59:00 | David Austin |
| Re:Re:Re:Re: Pillock | 03/12/15 11:30:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Terms of Reference of Montagu Evans QSR | 03/12/15 11:31:00 | John Cameron |
| Re:The Open Meeting: one ex-Conservators view | 03/12/15 11:48:00 | Nicholas Evans |
| Re:Terms of Reference of Montagu Evans QSR | 03/12/15 11:51:00 | David Austin |
| Re:Re:Terms of Reference of Montagu Evans QSR | 03/12/15 12:40:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re:Terms of Reference of Montagu Evans QSR | 03/12/15 13:31:00 | John Cameron |
| Re:Re:Re:Terms of Reference of Montagu Evans QSR | 03/12/15 13:52:00 | Stephen Walker |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Terms of Reference of Montagu Evans QSR | 03/12/15 14:26:00 | Robert Wheeler |
| Re: Still a disconnect | 03/12/15 14:07:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re: Still a disconnect | 03/12/15 14:47:00 | Caroline Whitehead |
| Re:Re: Still a disconnect | 03/12/15 16:58:00 | John Cameron |
| Re:Re:Re: Still a disconnect | 03/12/15 18:07:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re:Re:Re: Still a disconnect | 03/12/15 18:29:00 | Andy Pike |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Still a disconnect | 03/12/15 20:05:00 | Nicholas Evans |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Still a disconnect | 03/12/15 22:23:00 | Andy Pike |
| Re:Re:Re:Re: Still a disconnect | 04/12/15 04:29:00 | John Cameron |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Still a disconnect | 04/12/15 07:28:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Still more disconnection | 04/12/15 09:18:00 | David Austin |
| Re:Still more disconnection | 04/12/15 10:07:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re:Still more disconnection | 04/12/15 10:23:00 | Sue Hammond |
| Re:Re:Re:Still more disconnection | 04/12/15 10:29:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Still more disconnection | 04/12/15 10:55:00 | Caroline Whitehead |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Misrepresentation | 04/12/15 11:07:00 | Nicholas Evans |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Misrepresentation | 04/12/15 11:57:00 | Caroline Whitehead |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Misrepresentation | 04/12/15 14:48:00 | Nicholas Evans |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Misrepresentation | 04/12/15 15:56:00 | David Austin |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Misrepresentation | 04/12/15 16:06:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Code of Conduct - Conflicts of Interest policy | 04/12/15 16:35:00 | Nicholas Evans |
| Re:Code of Conduct - Conflicts of Interest policy | 04/12/15 17:04:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re:Code of Conduct - Conflicts of Interest policy | 04/12/15 17:44:00 | Nicholas Evans |
| Re:Re:Re:Code of Conduct - Conflicts of Interest policy | 04/12/15 18:04:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Code of Conduct - Conflicts of Interest policy | 04/12/15 19:22:00 | Robert Wheeler |
| Misconduct / Conflicts of Interest | 05/12/15 02:13:00 | John Cameron |
| Re:Misconduct / Conflicts of Interest | 05/12/15 10:11:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re:Misconduct / Conflicts of Interest | 05/12/15 12:01:00 | David Ainsworth |
| Re:Re:Re:Misconduct / Conflicts of Interest | 05/12/15 12:46:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Misconduct / Conflicts of Interest | 05/12/15 12:56:00 | David Ainsworth |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Misconduct / Conflicts of Interest | 05/12/15 15:06:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Misconduct / Conflicts of Interest | 05/12/15 15:21:00 | David Ainsworth |
| Documents | 05/12/15 16:01:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Documents | 05/12/15 16:55:00 | David Ainsworth |
| Re:Re:Documents | 05/12/15 17:12:00 | Sue Hammond |
| Re:Re:Re:Documents | 05/12/15 17:56:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Documents | 05/12/15 18:11:00 | David Ainsworth |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Documents | 05/12/15 23:46:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Documents | 06/12/15 01:03:00 | David Ainsworth |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Documents | 06/12/15 01:16:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Documents | 06/12/15 10:15:00 | Sue Hammond |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Documents | 05/12/15 18:38:00 | Sue Hammond |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Documents | 05/12/15 20:23:00 | Andy Pike |
| Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Documents | 06/12/15 11:21:00 | David Austin |
| Absolute balderdash | 06/12/15 11:49:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Re:Absolute balderdash | 06/12/15 12:09:00 | Sue Hammond |
| Re:Re:Absolute balderdash | 06/12/15 12:15:00 | David Ainsworth |
| Re:Re:Re:Absolute balderdash | 06/12/15 13:54:00 | Jonty Nicholls |
| Absolute Nolans / Conflicts of Interest | 06/12/15 19:01:00 | John Cameron |
| Audit and Risk Terms of Reference, a Clarification | 09/12/15 17:44:00 | John Cameron |