July 2022 Update and two “Thank Yous”
On Thursday 28th July the Parish Council bid for and successfully acquired the Methodist Chapel and Schoolroom for £140,000 at a property auction held at the Ashbourne Golf Club. A 10% deposit was paid on the evening of the auction and completion is expected within 20 working days when the balance of the full purchase price will be paid. It was only possible to to secure the chapel as a result of the generosity of those people who made donations towards its purchase in July. Our first “Thank You” goes to this group of people, many of whom wanted to remain anonymous. Prior to the purchase being made an extraordinary council meeting was held on Monday 25th July. The first half of the meeting was open to the public and 12 members of the Parish attended to have their questions about the auction and proposed purchase answered. The second half of the meeting was held in private with just council members present as aspects of it were commercially sensitive. This section reviewed the structural survey that had been commissioned and received on the chapel, agreed how bidding would be carried out and the highest bid that the council would support. The chapel was bought at a price below the highest bid that the council had pre-agreed and on terms that had also been previously approved and were unanimously supported. The Parish Council will now take out the Public Works Loan which forms part of the funds needed to purchase it. The Council will also support the formation of a Management Committee to help guide how the Chapel is developed and maintained to best serve the local community. The Council and Committee will also seek volunteers to help maintain and run the Chapel.
The Council and many members of the Parish would like to send a second “Thank You” to Dan Pedley, the Chairman of the Parish Council, who has spent 4 years and committed much of his own time and resources to successfully buy the Chapel.
June 2022 Update
In August 2021, the UK Government granted approval to the Church Broughton Parish Council to take out a Public Works Loan towards making a bid to purchase the Church Broughton Methodist Chapel and Schoolroom. The Parish Council set aside some cash reserves and secured a substantial grant from South Derbyshire District Council, as additional funding sources towards the project.
The Parish Council was invited privately to make an offer which we made in October 2021. We were given to understand that there was a reasonable chance that the offer would be acceptable to the Methodist Circuit, albeit subject to Head Office approval. Several months later, in June 2022, and very disappointingly, the Methodist Head Office has advised that it is not able to accept the bid when the sale of the building has not been tested on the open market. Charity and Methodist law have been cited as the reasons for this.
We have now been advised that the building will be sold by public auction towards the end of July 2022.
Recent increases in interest rates and property market growth mean that we are unlikely to have enough funds to secure a purchase at auction. The Parish Council is reluctant to borrow more money via the Public Works Loan, which could require further increases to the local Council Tax precept, but we are keen to do the best we can for the community to acquire the building.
The Parish Council is aware of people who are prepared to contribute financially. We are therefore seeking donations from anyone who is willing to help us to acquire the building.
Donations of any size will be welcomed, although we think that tens of thousands of pounds will be required to add to our existing budget. Donors’ names and contact details will remain confidential and only disclosed to those people within the Parish Council who need them to carry out their jobs. Donations will be received without obligation or condition, other than they will be returned if the Parish Council does not manage to acquire the building. If the Parish Council does acquire the building, any surplus cash will be held in the Parish Council cash reserves for local projects which benefit the community, such as towards maintenance or refurbishment of the chapel and schoolroom building. Donations are required by Thursday 21st July 2022, after which the Parish Council will hold a special meeting to review the budget for auction.
We will need donors to complete a short form with contact details and donation amount, to ensure accurate records for audit purposes. Details of payment methods are included on the form. Forms are now available in the Methodist Chapel during Hub opening times and in the Parish Church.
The form is also available for you to download and print by clicking here.
Some questions have been raised about the potential purchase of the Methodist Chapel and donations. The questions and answers can be seen by clicking here.
If you would like to discuss this project, please contact:
Dan Pedley on 01283 585477 or djwpedley@googlemail.com or
Helena Steeples on admin@churchbroughtonpc.org.uk
May 2021 Update
At the Church Broughton Parish Council meeting of 6 May 2021, it was RESOLVED to seek the approval of the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities & Local Government to apply for a PWLB loan of up to £75,000 over the borrowing term of 16 years for part-funding of a bid to buy the Methodist Chapel and Schoolroom. The annual loan repayments will come to around £5,000.
It is intended to increase the council tax precept for the purpose of the loan repayments by £5,000 per year which, for a band D property, equates to a 64% increase or the equivalent of an additional £20 a year. This was the subject of a council tax precept increase consultation in February and March 2021.
The process of consultation and the application to seek approval to borrow have been carried out in line with applicable guidance notes issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, with additional guidance from the Derbyshire Association of Local Councils. This is to ensure that all applicable legal requirements have been followed and that the proposal to borrow money is properly justified.
If you have any views or opinions you wish to feed in, please contact the Parish Council.