Brabners Chaffe Street Solicitors - Charities and Social Enterprise Services

Charities and Social Enterprise News Stories

Brabners Chaffe Street advises on new charitable trust transfer
2/06/2011

Leading North West law firm Brabners Chaffe Street has advised on the transfer of the operation of Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery from Carlisle City Council to a specially-formed charitable trust.

The trust approach will provide long-term benefits for the museum such as increased access to sources of funding and a more flexible approach to be more creative and innovative in delivering the museum's services. The trust will take long leases on properties and be responsible for the museum collections.

Stephen Claus, Partner and Head of Charity and Social Enterprise at Brabners Chaffe Street who led the team advising the trust said: “The trust will now be eligible to apply for additional funding for the museum and increase the services it offers. The new status will also mean it will be less reliant on public and voluntary funding. We are actively working with similar community groups transferring public assets into charitable trusts with public authority support.”

A Shadow Trust Board, chaired by Roger Cooke, was established in April 2010. The Shadow Board worked and negotiated with City Council officers and members of the Executive, Scrutiny Committees and the Council to develop the vision and plans for the Museum and prepare the legal agreements covering the establishment of a charitable trust, lease of the buildings, the management of the museum's collection and the transfer of staff.

Roger Cooke, Chairman of the Shadow Trust Board and now the new trust company, said: “The Trust will build upon the outstanding work of Carlisle City Council which has firmly established Tullie House as one of the country's leading cultural institutions. We will now move quickly to complete the formation of a larger permanent Trust Board and our overall aim, working with Tullie House's highly knowledgeable staff, will be to ensure that Tullie House continues to develop and thrive. We will also ensure that Tullie House is well-run and that the Trust is financially sound.”


For further information contact Stephen Claus at Brabners Chaffe Street on 0151 600 3000

Back to the Charities and Social Enterprise news headlines