14. Clarification Statement 2004

Context

By the early 2000s, the Village Hall site had expanded beyond the original 1985 land. Additional areas had been brought into use, and a number of different arrangements existed across the site.

These included:

• the main Village Hall site
• additional land at Orchard Park
• land at Mulberry Park associated with local football use
• ongoing Social Club activity and associated income

With multiple funding streams, land acquisitions, and different organisations involved, questions arose locally about how ownership and management arrangements operated in practice.

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Parish Council Statement (2004)

In 2004, Mulbarton Parish Council issued a public statement intended to clarify the position.

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In summary, the statement set out the Parish Council’s understanding at that time, including:

• that the Village Hall was held on trust for the benefit of the community
• that the Parish Council acted in the role of custodian trustee in relation to the main hall
• that Orchard Park was also understood to be held and managed on a similar basis
• that planned extensions to the hall would follow the same model

The statement was intended to provide a clear public explanation of how the different elements of the site related to one another.

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Mulberry Park

Records from the period show that:

• land at Mulberry Park was conveyed in January 1989 to named trustees of Mulbarton United Football Club
• the land was therefore not held by the Parish Council at that time

Records also indicate that:

• approximately £30,000 of Social Club profits (covenanted to the Village Hall Charity) were applied to the installation of floodlighting at Mulberry Park

Subsequent Land Registry records show that:

• the land at Mulberry Park was transferred to Mulbarton Parish Council in December 2006 for a stated consideration of £500
• the transfer was made by trustees of Mulbarton United Football Club to the Parish Council

Contemporaneous records further indicate that a separate sum, of approximately £30,000, was paid by MPC to trustees of MUFC in connection with assets at the site, including the floodlighting installation.

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Reading the Position in 2004

At the time the 2004 statement was issued:

• Orchard Park had been formally requested to be managed on trust
• the main Village Hall site was understood to be held on trust
• Mulberry Park was not owned by the Parish Council, but by trustees associated with the football club

The statement therefore reflects the Parish Council’s understanding of the arrangements at that time, based on the information then available.

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In Summary

By 2004:

• multiple parcels of land were in use as part of the wider Village Hall site
• different legal arrangements applied to different areas
• public clarification was sought to explain how these fitted together

The 2004 statement provides a contemporaneous record of how those arrangements were understood at that point in time.