Decision details

Cheltenham Borough Council is a nominating body to the trustee board of Catharine Ball for Almshouses, a charitable trust. There have been no CBC trustees nominated to the board for several years.

The Council has been contacted by the trust to raise awareness of its proposals to merge with Lilian Faithfull Care because of the advantages of economies of scale and so as to provide better facilities and services for the existing and future beneficiaries of the Charity

To support the merger of Catharine Ball for Almshouses (registered with Charity number 265013) with Lilian Faithfull Care (registered with charity number 1122183).

Not to support the merger.

This option was not supported due to the advantages of economies of scale of the merger which will provide better facilities and services for the existing and future beneficiaries of the Charity

One Legal, Group Leaders and Ward Members

To support the merger and widening the class of the beneficiaries provided that the original objectives of the Catharine Ball Almshouses charity is safeguarded, i.e. that those able to benefit from the Charity are poor, aged or infirm women who (except in special cases to be approved by the Charity Commission) are resident in the area of the Ancient Parishes of Leckhampton and Cheltenham at the time of appointment, and that preference should be given to duly qualified women resident in the area of the former ecclesiastical district of St Philip, Leckhampton.