“Money Is the Only Motivation”: Campaigners Ask the Government to Investigate How the Church of England Sells Property

• A former Charity Commission chair asked for a parliamentary inquiry into Church of England property sales
• Two disputed sales were cited: the Old Deanery in Wells and a village school in Arkengarthdale
• A community land trust bid £150,000 for the school; a developer won with £185,000
• Campaigners say charity law does not force churches to sell to the highest bidder

Campaigners have called on the UK government to investigate how the Church of England sells its property, Housing Digital reported in November 2020, arguing that dioceses put money ahead of communities.

Two sales were at the centre of the complaint. One was the 15th-century Old Deanery in Wells, Somerset, where an offer of £1.25 million had been made. The other was the old village school in Arkengarthdale, North Yorkshire, where the Upper Dales Community Land Trust bid £150,000 but lost to a developer offering £185,000.

Geraldine Peacock, a former chair of the Charity Commission, said dioceses were misreading charity law. “Diocesan councils use this interpretation as the reason for maximising their property assets in this way. It is not true that this means sell to the highest financial bidder,” she said. “We want Parliament to investigate, with the CofE, its property disposal issues because they are exempt from legislation pertaining to local authorities.”

Stephen Stubbs, chair of the land trust, said: “It would appear money is the only motivation, all the talk about the importance of communities and helping with the housing crisis is proving to be just empty rhetoric.” Charity treasurer Jacky Frankland accused the church of “trying to snatch away our little charity in pursuit of their own greed.” The dioceses involved were Bath and Wells and Leeds.

The argument goes to the heart of how churches treat land. If charity law allows a church to accept less than the top bid for good reasons, churches have more room to support affordable housing and community projects. Jamaican church trustees who assume they must always take the highest offer should get legal advice on what their own trust deeds and charity rules allow. A sale that maximises cash can cost a church goodwill in the community it serves.

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