POTENTIAL Sale of Churchill Theatre and Central Library Site

The Council has given Notice of its desire to sell the Churchill Theatre and Central Library Site.

Representations must be received by 28 April - in theory a sale could occur the following day


The Notice refers to a 'Settlement'.  This is a very complicated document which has been transcribed by the Bromley Civic Society and which can be found here: -




A scanned version of the original Settlement/Conveyance can be found here (opens a googledrive folder)

We provide the following thoughts and comments based on our best understanding of the terms of the Settlement (Conveyance). As noted, the document is extremely complicated to understand and as such the analysis below may well be flawed.

  • The Settlement/Conveyance refers to public benefit on page 3:-


"...use of the Trustees their heirs executors administrators and assigns accordingly unto the nature or tenure of the same to be held by them upon the trusts and with and subject to the powers and provisions thereinafter declared and contained of and concerning the same that was to say Upon trust for the purposes of a Public Park or Public Museum as defined by the Mortmain and Charitable Uses Act 1888 or any Statutory modification thereof or of a Technical and Industrial Institution as defined by the Technical and Industrial Institutions Act 1892 or any statutory modifications thereof or of any other kind of Institution or Establishment for the public benefit for which land might lawfully be held in trust for the benefit of the inhabitants of the said Parish of Bromley..."



  • The scheme does not appear to allow for the sale of the land which was bequeathed to the trustees for the benefit of Bromley residents.  The sale of the theatre and library would mean that something of value to the public would be lost to the public and is not being replaced. Although the theatre will remain (and the library re-sited) the public are losing the right to a space which is guaranteed to be used for their benefit.  Once ownership of the site transfers, anything might happen to it and it may be lost to the public forever. 

  • One of the benefits of the current arrangement is that there are two public hall spaces in the library tower building, at least one of these is very large.  These are held in trust for the public benefit.  There is no direct replacement for them (the new library has a space but is limited to just 45 people, and in additionit is not dedicated to the public) 

  • The Public Notice states:-

"In accordance with the requirements of the Settlement’s charitable Scheme, the proceeds of the sale will be held for the purpose of acquiring land for the purposes specified in Section 2 of the Technical and Industrial Institutions Act 1892" 


We can't find this provision in the Scheme.  There is no mention of selling the land or acquiring any other.  If anyone can, please let us know!


  •  The above references The Technical Instruction Act which says, in Chapter 76:- 

Summary

The information above gives rise to a number of questions: -

  • Does the Settlement/Conveyance actually allow the Council to sell the site?

 

  • The Settlement/Conveyance bequeathed the land that the Theatre and Library are on to the people of Bromley for their benefit. What is going to replace this benefit if the land is sold so Bromley residents retain the benefit of the Settlement?

 

  • How is this to be achieved?

 

  • How are the sale proceeds actually going to be spent (if the sale proceeds)?

 

  • What is the plan for the use of the sale proceeds (There appears to be none)?

 

  • How are Bromley residents going to continue to enjoy the benefits of this gift that was once made to them?

 

  • Finally and crucially, we note that the Council has referred to the Settlement in its formal Notice but has not provided access to it. Thus any representations received will likely be made without benefit of knowledge of detailed information about the Settlement, making the Consultation somewhat flawed.