Untangling the Burgess Lands wrangle
A public meeting was attended by more than 70 concerned residents last November after it was claimed at a town council meeting that a previous administration of the Burgess Lands Trust had potentially lost almost £400,000 due to failed investments.
That meeting concluded that a new independent board of trustees be appointed to manage the multi-million-pound fund that should be used for the good of Welshpool.
And nearly a year on, the new entity has provided an optimistic update that has revealed that one of the three failed investments in a renewable energy company that went out of business could be recovered, and that grants could soon be available again for good local causes.
“At the public meeting of the Trust held last year it was confirmed that in future the Trust would operate in a more transparent way,” a statement provided to MyWelshpool by the Trust said: “That meeting was attended by some 70 people. It was the first public meeting in the 260 years of the Trust’s existence.
“One of the concerns at the meeting was the potential loss of funds due to the failure of three companies in which the Trust had invested monies from the sale of land.
“There have been two meetings of the Trustee since the public meeting. Every effort continues to be made to recover the investments and therefore the Trustee was pleased to learn that Renewable Energy Waste Resources (thought to be around £225,000) has been purchased from the Administrator, with the expectation that bond holders would be paid in full.
“The grants given to local organisations under Objective Two of the Trust, which have not been awarded for a number of years, will recommence this year. Arrangements are in hand for the Management Committee to meet. The availability of these grants will be widely publicised.
“Although the progress is slow, the Trust’s desire to be a charitable incorporated organisation is moving forward with the Charity Commission. This will mean a new constitution will replace the Act of 1761 as the governing authority of the Trust.”
What is the Burgesses Land Trust?
The Trust was set up in 1761 to provide income to support the running cost and repair of the Town Council’s buildings. When this objective has been met in full then the income can go towards the poor and needy.
The Council does operate a small grant scheme under the second objective.
The Town Council claims on its web site that in 2017, the Trust was valued at around £4m with annual income of around £100,000.
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