The story so far
West Sussex County Council, as sole Corporate trustee has advertised the property that is held by the St John’s Institute charity as a community asset transfer opportunity. The Council’s aspiration is that the property will continue to be used for the benefit of local young people.
A group of charities, supported by Burgess Hill Town Council have established a new Charitable Incorporated Organisation to take on and run the property as a youth and community centre for the benefit of the inhabitants of Burgess Hill. We propose to have a wide range of activities that are within the spirit of the original gift and for the benefit of the same beneficiaries but which reflect current social and economic circumstances (rather than those of almost a century ago when the current St John’s Institute charity was established).
The property has been closed since December 2021, but there remains a local need for the property and the objects of the charity need to be updated to enable recreational and leisure uses of the property that reflect modern social and economic circumstances (see below).
Why the change is needed
The St John’s Institute, now known as the Park Centre, was built in 1872 and gifted to the town by 19th Century artist and philanthropist Emily Temple. The Institute was originally used for a range of recreational and leisure activities including concert parties and major events such as religious and political meetings. It was vested in the Charity of Emily Temple by Charity Commission Scheme of 1 November 1912 and then transferred to the St John’s Institute charity in 1929 by Charity Commission Scheme (as varied by scheme of 20 May 1958), with the following objects:
“The carrying on of an institute for the purpose of promoting social intercourse and diffusing useful and entertaining knowledge by all or any of the following means, viz., a library for reference and circulation, reading, billiard and card rooms, lectures, debates and social evenings.”
West Sussex County Council (WSCC) has been the sole Corporate Trustee of the charity since that time.
In more recent years the Park Centre (as it is now known) was used by WSCC as a “Find It Out Centre” (a place for local residents to get advice, information and support) and as a Youth Centre. It closed in December 2021. The building is in reasonable condition but in need of some maintenance works.
WSCC has been exploring options to appoint a new Trustee and/or transfer the asset to another registered charity to take over management of the property with the intention that WSCC will stand down as a Trustee. In early 2022, WSCC advertised the property as a potential community asset transfer opportunity to seek interest from a suitable organisation that can demonstrate its ability to take on responsibility to manage and maintain the Park Centre. Sussex Clubs for Young People (charity number 1142272), working with Escape Youth Club (charity number 1190278) and Clarion Futures (charity number 1135056) and supported by Burgess Hill Town Council, were identified as suitable for such a community asset transfer, including demonstrating plans to raise funds to invest in maintenance and upgrade of the building.