The Charity Commission, the regulator of charities in England and Wales, has opened a statutory inquiry into Dovecot and Princess Drive Community Association (registered charity number 1064490).
As a protective measure, the regulator has also frozen the charity's bank accounts due to financial and governance concerns.
The charity was set up to benefit the local community by bringing together statutory authorities, voluntary organisations and residents in a common effort to, amongst other things, advance education, to protect health and relieve poverty. It was registered as a charity in 1997.
Information obtained by the Commission through its regulatory compliance work suggests the charity's property may be at risk.
The regulator's initial investigations have been unable to confirm who, if anyone, is currently acting as a trustee of the charity.
As part of the inquiry, the Commission is appealing to the local community to come forward with any information they may have about who is running the charity. Anyone with information should submit this via the regulator's online 'raising concerns' form.
Scope of the inquiry
The inquiry will examine the administration, governance and management of the charity and in particular:
whether the charity has a sufficient number of trustees who are willing and capable of managing it in accordance with its governing document
whether any misconduct or mismanagement led to financial losses for the charity
conflicts of interest and connected party transactions
whether false and misleading information has been submitted to the Commission, and
compliance with legal obligations for the content, preparation and filing of the charity's accounts and other information or returns.
The scope of the inquiry can be extended if additional regulatory issues emerge.
It is the Commission's policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing the issues examined, any action taken, and the inquiry's outcomes.
