Council allowed misuse of charity land as overflow car park

Ted Peskett, local democracy reporter

Cardiff Council allowed the misuse of charity land at the centre of a land swap application.

If the council’s proposal to swap land at Maindy Park for land at Caedelyn Park in Rhiwbina is approved by the Charity Commission it will allow Cathays High School to be expanded as planned.

Part of the land at Maindy Park, which is held in trust solely by Cardiff Council, was being used as an overflow car park for Cathays High School – something that constituted a breach of trust.

A breach of trust is when a charity or land held in trust is used in ways that goes against the trust’s objectives and can result in the Charity Commission taking action against trustees.

The Charity Commission said it was aware of the issue and added that Cardiff Council was pursuing alternative arrangements.

Relocated

Cardiff Council said the parking on Maindy Park Trust land has been relocated to the Companies House site nearby.

Campaigners who are fighting to protect Maindy Velodrome from demolition claimed the council has made legal failings in respect of Maindy Park Trust.

Community campaigner Jeremy Sparkes said: “The council’s legal failings in respect of Maindy Park Trust should be properly acknowledged by council leader Cllr [Huw] Thomas.

“He should now correct the public record in respect of his statement made in June 2022 and to give a 100% commitment that any further breaches and governance issues shall be remedied without delay.”

At a full council meeting of Cardiff Council on June 30, 2022, Cllr Thomas was asked a public question about the lawful basis for council decision-making on Maindy Park Trust.

In response Cllr Thomas said: “Let me be clear that this council operates within the law and prides itself on doing so.”

Covenant

Land at Maindy Park was gifted to the people of Cardiff by the Marquis of Bute in 1922.

Its use for recreation and leisure time use by all the people of Cardiff in perpetuity was set out in a covenant signed by representatives of the marquis.

A Welsh Government document on the stewardship of Maindy Park Trust states that the trustee is “responsible for upholding and protecting the use of the land in accordance with the legally binding stipulations in the covenant”.

In an email sent to a local resident on November 25, 2024, a senior council officer in the local authority’s education department said: “The council is aware of historic car park usage by the school on the Maindy site and… has taken steps to remedy the breach by relocating school parking provision and is transitioning to no longer use the site by the end of the calendar year.”

Earlier in the year Charity Commission CEO David Holdsworth warned councils in England and Wales over the administrative headaches they could face if they fail to look after charities correctly.

The Charity Commission said at the time that it had dealt with several cases involving council trusteeship and added that common themes arising in its casework involved council trustees changing the use or status of charitable land or disposing of it in a way that was incompatible with its charitable purpose, sometimes without knowing it was charity property.

Campaigners opposed to plans to expand Cathays High on Maindy Park land raised concerns about Cardiff Council’s handling of Maindy Park Trust.

Cathays High School has been waiting for years on a decision over its planned expansion.

Plans to increase the number of places at the school and replace the ageing building with a new one were approved in 2021.

Companies house

Early in 2024 Cardiff Council confirmed that it was engaging with the UK Government’s property unit over the future of the Companies House offices in Crown Way, Gabalfa.

The site is next to Cathays High and has been seen by campaigners as a viable alternative to expanding the school on Maindy Park Trust land.

The Charity Commission and Cardiff Council met in September to discuss the land swap application involving the trust.

A Charity Commission spokesman said: “We are aware that part of the parkland is being used as an overflow car park for the school and that the council is pursuing alternative arrangements to rectify this situation as soon as possible.

“The commission met with Cardiff Council to discuss its application for consent to the land exchange.

“Following that meeting in September its application is currently on hold while we await further information from the council.”

A Cardiff Council spokesman said: “This matter is ongoing with the Charity Commission.

“The council has established new governance procedures to ensure that all decisions taken that relate to a trust are taken solely in the best interest of the trust.

“As part of this process recent decisions relating to trusts have been reviewed and as a result the council has made arrangements to relocate the school parking to Companies House.”