THE owners of the Willows Nursery School asked for clarification from the trustees of the Bramshott War Memorial recreation ground after a letter from the Charity Commission’s over the possibility of granting a short lease for the Pavilion building was made public.

The letter from the Charity Commission’s Tony Robinson was received by Liphook resident Shauna Horsley at the end of November and reported in The Herald.

It stated Mr Robinson had advised the trustees they could grant a lease assuming that the building occupied a "very small" part of the overall recreation ground.

But the trustees told The Willows it had to vacate the Pavilion having declared it unsafe to use, forcing the nursery owners to find alternative premises before finally moving to the Millennium Centre on Ontario Way several weeks into the new academic year and after a summer of uncertainty over whether it could ever reopen.

This week, the trustees issued a statement saying that November’s Charity Commission letter has been issued. It said: “At a recent meeting of the War Memorial Recreation Ground [sic] the trustees resolved to release documents that were used in reaching the decision to demolish the Pavilion building.

“In addition the trustees have released two e-mails containing advice from the Charity Commission.

“One was received July 27, 2015, and the second on November 13, 2015. These, along with explanatory notes, are now available on the parish council website.

“The trustees decision to demolish the pavilion building still stands.

“However, they will be seeking clarification from the Charity Commission as to why their recent e-mail failed to explain the legal requirement, before granting any lease of seven years or less, for trustees to seek professional advice from a qualified surveyor to establish commercial rental rates.

“Nor did they advise that the trust would have to conduct a tendering process to advertise the opportunity to use the building and consider all requests from interested parties in order to obtain the best terms for the charity. In the circumstance, the trustees have decided not to pursue this option as neither the charity nor the parish council are able to fund a suitable replacement building.”

Parish councillor Trevor Maroney sent an e-mail to the Charity Commission asking for advice on granting a lease for the Pavilion building.

However, the e-mail, published on the parish council website, shows no date. The Herald was informed by trustee Jane Ives this week that it was sent on July 23, 2015.

Mr Maroney refers to a phone call he had made to Phestus Mokae concerning advice on whether or not the trustees of the charity, consisting purely of land and buildings, would be “breaching its objects were it to grant a lease to The Willows Nursery School, which is a business".

Mr Maroney added: “The objects do not include education. The owners were allowed temporary use of the 75-plus year building until it was unfit for purpose. We closed the building this year and have insured it for demolition only.

“The nursery owners wish to spend over £30,000 on repairs and reopen in September.”

His e-mail concludes: “The trustees, who haven’t met before, are meeting on Monday to familiarise themselves with their duties and responsibilities.

“What I would like to know is – would we be in breach of the trust’s objects if we granted a long-term lease to a business, and do we need to change the objects to include education?”

Philip Connick, of the Charity Commission, replied on July 27, giving general guidelines, asking for the provision of full details.

After notifying The Willows of the eviction from the Pavilion building on July 29, a statement was issued by Bramshott and Liphook Parish Council a day later, which said the trustees had considered the options for the Pavilion building under the annual licence arrangement and on advice from the Charity Commission it could not be done within the terms of the current deeds as they did not allow for nursery education provision.

Trustee Jane Ives wrote to the Charity commission on August 13, again asking for clarification on allowing nursery provision at the Recreation Ground in connection with a lease of more than seven years.

She received a reply from Mr Robinson on November 13, stating: “If a lease is granted then that part of the Recreation Ground will not be owned or operated by the charity for the duration of the lease.

“Because the charity will not be running the pre-school nursery there will be no need for the objects of the charity to be amended.

“We assume the building in question occupies a very small part of the overall recreation ground and so a lease of that part of the property will have no impact on the ability of the charity to provide a place of recreation.”

Willows owners Jackie Finlayson, Jill Cooke and Jannice Bowley have told The Herald they only requested a short lease of up to a maximum of seven years while they were in discussions with the trustees, before being notified of their eviction at the end of July.