Charity Commission raps Cardiff council

Martin Shipton

The Charity Commission has rapped Cardiff council for its handling of a proposed land-swap that could result in the demolition of the city’s velodrome and told it not to muddle up its dual roles as local authority and trustee of a park.

Campaigners opposed to Cardiff council plans to extend Cathays High School using land at Maindy Park raised concerns about the local authority’s handling of Maindy Park Trust – the charity that owns the land and which Cardiff Council is the sole trustee of.

Christine Barker, Head of Regulatory Authority for the Charity Commission said in a letter to former Independent MS Rhodri ab Owen, who represented the campaigners: ”Thank you for your email of 7 April 2026 with correspondence attached from your constituent, Mr Jeremy Sparkes, setting out his ongoing concerns about the governance of Maindy Park and the condition of the velodrome, which is one part of the charity’s assets.

“In my letter of 9 July 2025, I confirmed that the Commission was carefully considering your constituents’ concerns about the governance of Maindy Park, which they helpfully articulated in a document you shared with us in February 2025. I confirmed that we were engaging with Cardiff council in its capacity as trustee of Maindy Park to explore these matters.

“As an update, I can confirm that the Commission is continuing to engage with the trustee, and as part of this we have addressed in detail the concerns your constituents expressed in February 2025. The Commission issued formal advice and guidance to the trustee in November 2025 under section 15(2) of the Charities Act 2011, which related to the concerns that had been raised in that document.

“We have set out to the trustee our expectation that it should complete an independent review of the governance arrangements for the charity and that it should share with the Commission its terms of reference and timescales for this work. We understand this review is underway. The trustee is keeping the Commission updated about the progress of the review and we are expecting further detail about the terms of reference and timescale for completion imminently.

“We have strongly recommended that the trustee should consult with the charity’s beneficiaries, taking account of their views, suggestions and feedback to better inform its decision making.

“Once concluded we have asked the trustee to share with us a copy or summary of the completed review and tell us their plans to implement any recommendations. We have also advised the trustee that the Commission is continuing to receive complaints about the level of service and conditions at Maindy Park, including, but not limited to, the velodrome, as well as ongoing concerns about the governance arrangements for the charity.

“Where the Commission has received complaints about the service and standards at Maindy Park, we have explained to complainants that the Commission’s role as regulator of charities has a very specific focus; we are not a complaints or ombudsman service. We cannot take up individual complaints about poor services from charities, which should be directed to the trustees, or in this case the council in its capacity as trustee of Maindy Park.

“However, as we consider that there is an ongoing risk of continued disagreements and complaints that may cause reputational damage to the charity and/or damage its relationship with beneficiaries, on 13 April this year we issued further formal advice to the trustee. This sets out the steps we expect it to consider and act upon as a matter of urgency to address governance risks and ongoing disputes and complaints. We have emphasised the importance of the trustee clearly separating its role as trustee of the charity from its role as local authority, to avoid confusion and conflicts of interest.

“I hope that this update provides clarity about the Commission’s position and reassurance that the Commission’s focus remains on ensuring that the trustee complies with its legal duties and puts appropriate governance arrangements in place for Maindy Park.”

Campaigner

Mr Sparkes, a campaigner to protect and preserve Cardiff’s open spaces and parks for community benefit, told Nation.Cymru: “It is high time that council leader, Cllr Huw Thomas, dropped the veil of secrecy over the council’s stewardship of the Maindy Park Trust, its charity assets and the land swap proposal that he has championed which always appeared to be driven more by the financial advantage for the council than it was by the best interests of the Trust and its beneficiaries.

“The Information Rights Tribunal ruling that the community’s ‘motive was found to be a legitimate public interest aim of holding the council to account as sole trustee of charitable land’ takes precedence over the grounds the council tried to use to exempt the documents from disclosure.

“The Charity Commission clearly expects the Council to engage honestly and openly with the community but that cannot happen while the truth is hidden about the council’s stewardship.

“Cllr Thomas should now instruct Officers to place in the public domain all the correspondence between the council and the Charity Commission, including those since the FOI/EIR [Freedom of Information/ Environmental Information Regulations] requests that the Tribunal ruled should be released within 35 working days.”