Increased funds from Torbay Council too late, says land charity

A conservation charity which leased and maintained coastal areas said it did not receive increased funds from a council in time to prevent it from financial collapse.

Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust (TCCT), which received a management fee from the council, entered voluntary administration in October.

The trust looked after 80% of Torbay’s landscapes and more than 40 miles (64km) of coast paths and bridleways.

A Torbay Council spokesperson said it had been working with trustees since April to find a resolution to the charity’s financial difficulties and that it had “provided support to the Trust to operate through the summer”.

The trust said it had negotiated a new management fee with the council after “extensive negotiations”.

It was not due to come into force until April next year however, the charity said.

“Faced with this unavoidable shortfall, the trustees made the extremely difficult decision to move towards voluntary liquidation and immediately informed Torbay Council of this decision,” trustees said in a statement.

They said they had hoped the early notice of its closure would prompt a “controlled and transparent transition”.

“However, despite repeated requests, Torbay Council declined to participate in any handover process and instead chose to make a unilateral public announcement regarding TCCT’s closure,” they said.

A spokeswoman for Torbay Council said in a statement the authority had been working with trustees and the charity’s executive team “since April to seek a resolution to the financial challenges facing them”.

“Through that time, we have provided support to the trust to operate through the summer and had remained hopeful that the trustees would be able to propose a sustainable solution,” she said.

“Following their recent decision to place the trust in liquidation, we await confirmation of the liquidators’ appointment to determine its next steps, recognising how important these green spaces are to our community.”

She said the council understood the closure of the trust would have “wide-reaching impact on our communities, and that many residents will have questions and concerns”.

“However, at this time, due to the complex process for liquidation, we are unable to provide any further information on the individual spaces or services that are managed or provided by TCCT,” she added.