New Forest East MP Sir Julian Lewis urges Charity Commission to undertake “urgent investigation” into Foxlease sale
A NEW Forest MP has urged the Charity Commission to undertake an “urgent investigation” after alleged mismanagement over the sale of the former Foxlease activity centre.
Sir Julian Lewis has written to Orlando Fraser KC, the commission’s chairman, over Girlguiding’s “arrogant” decision not to accept a bid by charitable organisation Foxie’s Future.
As reported in the A&T, Foxlease on Clay Hill is one of five Girlguiding activity centres across the country which was axed in a cost-cutting drive by the organisation.
In a bid to save the site, campaign group Foxie’s Future registered the building as an Asset of Community Value, which enables them to bid for the property.
However, they were left “exceedingly disappointed” after its over-market offer was rejected.
Sir Julian Lewis has now blasted the decision in a letter to Mr Fraser. He wrote: “It is both surprising and disappointing not to have had any acknowledgement or response to the letter which I sent to you on 24th October last year about the conduct of Girlguiding UK in closing down and selling off valuable properties – including Foxlease in my constituency – which were donated to the charity by local philanthropists in order to be of permanent direct benefit to local girls.
“This disturbing behaviour is now going from bad to worse. The local campaign group Foxie's Future has made a hugely successful effort to raise the £4m asking price to buy back for the community the Foxlease estate, which was donated for the benefit of the community in the first place.
“It seems to me quite clear that Girlguiding UK are more interested in property deals and speculation as I said in the recent debate in Parliament than they are in fulfilling their ostensible charitable purpose.
“Furthermore, their obstructive behaviour towards Foxie's Future may well be motivated by a fear that, if Foxlease is purchased by this community group and then successfully run as a centre for girls, that will be a humiliation for Girlguiding UK which has chosen to close down such centres in pursuit of financial profit rather than the interest of girls in the community.”
He concluded: “Once again, I call for an urgent investigation by the Charity Commission into the apparent mismanagement by Girlguiding UK in contravention of its own aims and objectives.”
He has also written to Girlguiding’s chair of trustees, Denise Wilson OBE, blasting the organisation’s “arrogant” behaviour which had left him “dismayed and appalled”.
In the letter he said: “Foxlease was given to your organisation in order to be a facility, here in the New Forest, to benefit girls in the movement. Now a community organisation has successfully raised the asking price in order to buy back from you, for the community, an asset which you were given to run on behalf of that same community.
“Despite all of that, you have arrogantly declined to accept Foxie's Future as the preferred bidder and seem to be determined to prevent the community from recovering and safeguarding this hugely loved establishment.”
He continued: “Why are you behaving in this way? Why won't you accept Foxie's Future's bid [and] why won't you say who the preferred bidder is?
“Why won't you reveal the size of the preferred bid, so that Foxie's Future can try to exceed it?
“I strongly suspect that you would not welcome a community organisation successfully providing a service to girls in the New Forest which you yourselves have chosen to abdicate – presumably in pursuit of financial gain.”
In May the group confirmed it had made it past the first round of bidding after estate agent Savills put the site on the market last year for £4m.
However, Foxie’s Future revealed last month it had missed out – a decision which left it feeling “let down”.
The A&T has contacted Girlguiding for comment.
