Interim manager drafted in to run heritage charity embroiled in a 'serious dispute'

The Charity Commission has appointed an interim manager to run a Brighton and Hove historical and architectural charity that has been hit by a “serious dispute” over its governance.

The drafting in of Pippa Garland of Russell Cooke LLP into Brighton and Hove Heritage Commission follows the launch of a statutory inquiry in July last year to investigate whether its governing document is “fit for purpose”.

The probe is also looking at whether “any failings or weaknesses identified in the administration of the charity are a result of misconduct and/or mismanagement by its trustees”.

Garland’s remit includes “taking any steps immediately necessary to secure the property of the charity including taking control of and managing all assets of the charity”.

She will also administer the charity, which registered five years ago, until “validly appointed trustees” are in place.

The regulator stresses that her appointment is “to the exclusion of any trustee of the charity” and that its probe into its administration remains ongoing.

Before the regulator opened its investigation last year it had been engaging with the charity for over 12 months following concerns raised around alleged financial misappropriation and poor financial controls within the charity.

During this time a former trustee had died leaving the charity with a potential legacy, which sparked an “escalating dispute between individuals involved in the charity” over how this should be handled.

The regulator also found that the charity’s governing document “contains irreconcilable and contradictory provisions” over the appointment of trustees.

Mediation was recommended to settle the dispute, but this had not taken place and “various attempts by parties to the dispute to seek solutions” had failed.

According to the Charities Register the charity’s income for the financial year ending July 2025 was £4,547, while it spent £17,518 over this period.

The previous year its income of £9,670 was also outstripped by its expenditure, with £33,670 spent in the 12 months to July 2024.