Sheffield Graves Park Norton Nurseries row set to be discussed behind closed doors

The Friends of Graves Park have opposed the use of part of Norton Nurseries for a council parks depot as being detrimental to the charity ownership of the park. They have twice reported their concerns to the Charity Commission, which concurred with the first complaint and warned the council it is in contravention of the Charities Act 2011.

The Friends group, who have raised money to return part of the old nurseries to park use, have objected to the use of the land for storing waste collected from city parks and for the storage of council parks and countryside department machinery and vehicles. The group argue that the land must only be used for the benefit of the park charity trust.

The Charity Commission warning last year resulted in the council agreeing to look for another site for its depot operations but said that so far this has proved difficult to achieve.

As previously reported, chair of the Friends group Caroline Dewar wrote again recently to the Charity Commission. She stated that the council parks and countryside department is asking the charity sub-committee to grant a 12-month temporary licence to use Norton Nurseries as an operational base for 35 parks and open spaces.

Ms Dewar stated several objections to any temporary licence, including that it would be condoning the illegal use of the nurseries, which has continued for eight years.

Protective

She also said: “To lease the site as a depot for £60,000 per annum appears incredibly cheap. To grant a temporary licence opens the door to that licence being made permanent in the future.”

The group are fiercely protective of park land and have in the past successfully seen off council attempts to use part of Graves for housing development or for the expansion of St Luke’s Hospice.

The issue will be discussed at a meeting of the council’s charity trustee sub-committee on Monday (June 23) but the related papers have been restricted from being viewed by members of the press or public.

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The reasons given are that they relate to “professional legal privilege” or that they “contain information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)”.

The park is owned by the Graves Park Charity and the sub-committee acts on behalf of the council as the charity’s trustee. A report to the sub-committee says that the papers concern external legal advice obtained by the council in relation to correspondence received from the Charity Commission and a proposed course of action.

Solution

Sub-committee chair Coun Richard Williams recently told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “These matters are being taken very seriously and have been, and continue to be discussed and worked out, in detail by the council’s charity trustee sub-committee.

“There is currently work being undertaken to relocate as much of the council’s depot facilities as possible out of Norton Nursery so that part of, or all of, the site can be returned to parkland as soon as possible.

“We want to reassure the Friends of group, park users and the local community that we are working on a solution as quickly as possible, but the process is complex. We remain fully committed to listening to and working with the Friends of Graves Park group.”