1st January 2017
The Chairman
Pevensey Town Trust
Registered Charity Number 234782
The Court House
Pevensey
Dear Sir/Madam
Re:- Parking Charges
It is with regret, disappointment and intense frustration that I am compelled once again to write regarding parking charges in Pevensey.
It would appear that despite your charitable status and the associated implication of a benevolence towards the local community, you are seemingly unable even to extend me the courtesy of acknowledging all previous correspondence.
If indeed it is a fact that ”Charitable Trusts in English Law are dedicated to Charitable Goals” I cannot help but question whether Pevensey Town Trust has lost sight of this objective as it stubbornly maintains a parking policy that demonstrates nothing more than an understanding of the maxim “charity begins at home” which in this case clearly refers to the Court House Museum , Cattle Market Square and Cattle Market Car Park.
I would also question whether The Trust recognises an obligation to demonstrate its charitable purpose and requirement to exist as a benefit to the public or section of the public.
Included in the first ever definition of “Charitable Purpose” back in 1601 was a stipulation of “other purposes beneficial to the community”.
Whilst I can appreciate that the primary objective of Pevensey Town Trust is to ensure the conservation and maintenance of the historic sites within its remit, I cannot help but consider it selfish and insular in the extreme not to extend a similar benevolence towards other buildings of historic significance and importance within the local community.
A fundamental objective of my business plan was to once again provide Pevensey with a focal point that might encourage social interaction and breathe life into an iconic building that had become a neglected thorn in the side of many local campaigners.
Unlike the Court House however, Castle Cottage Tearoom does not enjoy the financial luxury of closing for six months every year and yet my business cannot possibly anticipate a prolonged tenancy when potential customers are deterred from stopping in Pevensey for tea or otherwise by the uncharitable demands made by Pevensey Town Trust to park the car.
It is a clearly understood and fundamental precept of any Charitable Trust that it runs as a not for profit organisation and yet I note from the available financial data that Pevensey Town Trust income invariably exceeds its annual expenditure and I am therefore at a loss to understand why the current parking charges cannot be adjusted to a level more appropriate to the season.
I would once again request therefore that the current daily charge be amended to a nominal fee for the first two hours or preferably suspended entirely for the winter months, particularly in view of the fact that those visitors “donating” £2.00 to Pevensey Town Trust are unable to visit the historic building that is the predominant recipient of all monies collected.
It is my sincere hope that Pevensey Town Trust is able to embrace this far from radical notion of community interaction and mutual support but having received no response to my previous correspondence that would confirm this, I am left with no alternative but to bring my concerns to the attention of others who might better comprehend the reasoning behind my suggestions.
Yours faithfully
Francesca Di Palma
Castle Cottage Tearoom
editor response: We have received the following letter from one of the businesses based in Pevensey, that calls into question the future of Pevensey Town Trust. Bay Life believes that the Trust has received over £200,000 since it was established in 2009, with the majority of the monies coming from the ‘management’ of the car park in Pevensey. The Trust will come under intense scrutiny in the coming weeks..
A dossier of letters, complaints, criticisms from residents, volunteers, people close to the management of the organisation and other interested parties will be put to the Pevensey Town Trust in the coming week. to give the organisation the opportunity to respond to what is being said. We will then publish the dossier and the response of Pevensey Town Trust.
The latest letter, from a key new business in Pevensey makes clear the scale of anger being directed at the Peveney Town Trust. We believe that this anger is shared by other key stakeholders.
Our understanding is that the MP, Huw Merriman is to become directly involved in the issue, with a fact finding visit to businesses in Pevensey expected in the coming weeks.
Bay Life will be launching a campaign,, including a poll of residents, to garner views about what local people think should happen next with the management of the Court House, Museum and Gaol, together with the ownership of the car park.
Pevensey Court House and Museum is one of the jewels in our crown. We believe it is now time to ask public questions about the management of the Court House.
With so much money flowing into the coffers of the Pevensey Town Trust, some many questions being asked, and so little evidence of what is being done with the money and the profiling of the Court House to residents, and visitors from across the world, people are clearly becoming very angry indeed about the situation. This anger, in our view, with so much being done by other organisations to profile and support regeneration here, and to support economic activity, raises legitimate questions about the future of the organisation.
So much needs to be done to support the profiling of the historic locality to residents and visitors in 2017 and so much work is being done by savvy businesses and other bodies locally.
Is the Pevensey Town Trust a dysfunctional parochial shambles that should be wound up with immediate effect?
