Consultation closed 1 June 2021
Norwich City Council is the sole Trustee of the Eliza Pym Trust. The sole asset of the Trust is a property at 6-9 Ninhams Court, Norwich and the purpose of the Trust was to hold the property for the benefit of the City of Norwich.
A review by the Council, as Trustee, acknowledged and recognised that public money was being used to meet the liabilities of the Trust, which include to care and maintain the structure and fabric of the property. The Council, as Trustee, took the decision, in the best interests of the purpose of the Trust, to transfer the Trust (and 6-9 Ninhams Court, Norwich) to an appropriately robust and reliable organisation or individual that could demonstrate both a high level of competency in historical property renovation, and a constitution that closely replicates the purpose and aims of the Trust.
A further consideration was that such a body may be able to obtain financing, that was otherwise unavailable to the Council. This financing would cover the costs of approximately £1m of repairs and renovations that the buildings need, if they are to be kept. Further, this sum excludes VAT, the various professional fees that will be needed, and the planning / building regulation fees.
The Council, as Trustee, had approached a number of nationally recognised organisations, specialists in historic buildings, to invite them to consider acquiring the Trust and 6-9 Ninhams Court. Despite some initially encouraging discussions, the Council, as Trustee concluded that this option is not going to fulfil the needs of the trust.
Consequently, the Council, as Trustee, proposes to:
- make an application to the Charity Commission for a "scheme" to be able to transfer 6-9 Ninhams Court, to the Norwich Preservation Trust, as this is in the Trusts best interest; and
- once the scheme has been approved, and the transfer completed, to wind up the Trust.
It is for these reasons that the council is consulting with the public in Norwich on this proposal.
To provide some understanding of the building and its status, together with an indication as to the likely future use and refurbishment of the property, a suite of documents can be requested from agency.norwich@nps.co.uk
Should you wish to make a representation or make your views known, please do so by sending these via email to agency.norwich@nps.co.uk
All such correspondence needs to be received by 1 June 2021 for it to be considered.
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