A row has erupted over the future of Ryde Town Hall, with Isle of Wight East MP Joe Robertson accusing the Ryde Neighbourhood Board of acting behind closed doors to influence the building’s sale – a claim strongly denied by the Board’s chair.
The Grade II-listed Town Hall, also known as Ryde Theatre, was due to go to auction last Wednesday (10th December) with a guide price of £650,000. But in a surprise turn of events, the lot was withdrawn – after a reported £25,000 deposit was paid and legal paperwork was signed.
It later emerged that Ryde Revival CIC, a local community group, is working with the building’s private owner and the Ryde Neighbourhood Board on a possible community-led purchase. The Board is part of the government-backed ‘Pride in Place’ initiative, which has access to significant regeneration funding – starting with £742,000 next year and up to £20 million over a 10-year period.
Ryde Revivial CIC is headed up by Captain Mark Walker, James Longford and Helen Keogan. The Community Interest Company’s patron is John Giddings.
MP Joe Robertson raised concerns last week in a Facebook post, claiming the Board had quietly passed a motion by email just days before the auction to support Ryde Revival’s bid. He said the Board’s actions could have led to public money being committed without transparency, due diligence, or formal approval in a public meeting.
Mr Robertson said:
“This is unacceptable conduct by the Ryde Neighbourhood Board who have been entrusted with public money for the people of Ryde.
“The Board must now publish all documentation (including background information, emails and minutes of meetings) surrounding the motion and how it came to be voted on.
Article continues below this advertisement “Ryde residents must be given the full picture – it is their money not the Board’s money.”
In response, Board Chair Steven Holbrook suggested the MP had missed important meetings where the issues were discussed in depth. He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service:
“Unfortunately, Joe hasn’t turned up to many meetings.
“All these areas he brought up were discussed in depth during the meetings which he wasn’t attending and then the details will come out in the minutes when they’re published.”
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But Mr Robertson has now hit back again, insisting either he or a member of his staff has attended every meeting except one – and that the problem is not with the formal meetings, but with what he describes as ‘secretive’ discussions behind the scenes.
Joe Robertson has now said:
“A representative from my office or I have been at every Ryde Neighbourhood Board meeting except the most recent one held at the beginning of December. However, the real issue with the proposed acquisition of the Ryde Town Hall is not the formal Board meetings but the various secretive meetings and conversations between one or more members of the Board, the private owner of the Town Hall and Ryde Revival CIC. We do not know when these meetings were, who attended them or what was discussed because there are no minutes.
“The Board was notified by email on Friday 5th December that a proposed transfer of ownership of the Town Hall to Ryde Revival had been agreed for £600,000 with the owner of the Town Hall agreeing to remove the Town Hall from public auction in return for a deposit of £25,000 from Ryde Revival and the signing of legal paperwork. In order to ensure this proposal would go through the Neighbourhood Board was told that it, ‘needs to underwrite purchase cost to enable community company to acquire’.
“Despite the agreed price being way in excess of the inflation adjusted price that was paid for the Town Hall when the Isle of Wight Council sold it in 2013, no approved business plan and no due diligence or valuation having been undertaken, the Board proceeded to pass a motion by email (not at a Board meeting) with the expressed intention of causing money to change hands and legal paperwork to be signed. This proposal has never featured on the agenda of a Board meeting.
“As a collective, the Board does not seem to understand that there are proper processes to follow when spending public money. It needs to be open and transparent with the people of Ryde when allocating the £20 million entrusted to it on their behalf. A number of Board members have messaged me privately to say they are unhappy with what has been going on and one person feels “bullied” over the way the Town Hall dealings have been handled. I am therefore calling on the Chair to take responsibility and overhaul the way in which the Board operates. It says something if the MP has to be personally present at every meeting to stop the Board operating in a secretive or reckless manner.”
The Board has confirmed that it cannot itself purchase the Town Hall but has agreed to support a community organisation to do so – if strict conditions are met.
It’s said:
“The Board has agreed that, while it cannot commit directly to the purchase of the building, it would commit to supporting a community group to acquire the building provided certain conditions, ensuring due diligence and due process, are completed by any third party wishing to purchase the building.
“It was hoped that this commitment in principle would provide sufficient assurance to the owner to withdraw Ryde Town Hall from the auction in December.
“The Board is clear that an open and transparent selection process must take place. This will be based on a robust business case and the ability of the prospective acquirer to secure the building with appropriate insurances.
“We are obviously delighted that subsequently Ryde Town Hall was withdrawn from the auction, as this now gives time for future possibilities to be explored.”
The Board added that any financial support would require full approval, meet government criteria, and be signed off by the Isle of Wight Council as the accountable body.
Ryde Town Hall has stood empty since 2010, but residents have repeatedly called for the historic landmark to be restored for community use. Previous proposals have included converting it into housing, reopening it as a theatre, or developing it into a mixed-use cultural space.
Well done Joe….keep yeh eye on them
And while he’s about sort out the goddammit ferries
This is a very similar situation to that of Ventnor Winter Gardens and calls to mind the old poem:”Oh what a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive”.
For once I agree with Robertson.
There are three entities at play here.
The Ryde Neighbourhood Board.
The Ryde Town Hall Trust.
and Ryde Revival CIC.
Difficult to choose which one of those three has the most integrity