Shock complaint over library decision as trust calls out ‘unfair advantage’

A charity which lost out in a bid to take on Lynn’s historic library has lodged a shock complaint – claiming the winner had an “unfair advantage”.The Margery Kempe Trust, one of the finalists in the process to take on the Carnegie building, has revealed it has lodged a formal complaint to Norfolk County Council.It challenges the integrity and fairness of the process used to determine the future use of the historic building.

In July last year, the county council opened an application scheme offering community groups a chance to take over the London Road premises.The authority has said its decision on the successful applicant was made after a “thorough and competitive application process”.This came amid work to move library services to a new purposely built hub in the former Argos building on Baxter’s Plain, which is expected to open later this year.

However, the core of The Margery Kempe Trust’s complaint is based around “evidence” indicating that the successful applicant, The Garage Trust, secured a £10,000 grant from the Architectural Heritage Fund specifically for the Carnegie library – two months before the county council opened applications to community groups. The Margery Kempe Trust, a charity set up by local parents James Wadham, Antonia Hayes and James Goodman-Stephens, contends that this funding was purportedly obtained with the council’s prior knowledge and possible support.A spokesperson from the trust said: “How can local community groups ever compete fairly if it feels like the winner’s chosen before the race even starts? “Getting that much money for project viability months before the application process was meant to be open gave a huge head start and unfair advantage. It was kept a secret from us and the other community groups.

“This goes against the principles of openness and equity that people expect from public bodies.”When approached by the Lynn News, the county council failed to respond directly to The Margery Kempe Trust’s claims.A spokesperson for the council said: “We know that this building is important to many people in the town, so it was important that we took the time to find the best custodian. “This decision comes after a thorough and competitive application process.”The Margery Kempe Trust has claimed funds were used by the other applicant to develop architectural plans and feasibility studies for its application.Other applicants in the early stages of the process are unknown. However, we do know who were named as the two finalists.The Margery Kempe Trust was pipped to the post by The Garage Trust, which currently operates The Workshop in Lynn, offering performing arts opportunities for young people. Adam Taylor, CEO of The Workshop, said his team was “deeply saddened” to hear about the complaint – and said they worked hard to secure the Carnegie.Mr Taylor said: “We’re deeply saddened to learn of a complaint; we worked really hard to secure this as a potential new home for our work in Lynn.“Since we opened our doors in the Vancouver quarter in 2019, we’ve been looking for somewhere to house our work for the long term beyond this pop-up venue.“In the last six years we have been able to present exciting projects such Women of The World festival in Lynn, two international dance participation projects with young people from the borough alongside international dance artists from Paris, Italy, Barcelona and South Africa; young actors have presented three performances as part of National Theatre Connections Festival and we’re presently making a silent disco tour of Lynn with a group of young people from the town. “When we found out our application had been successful, we, our partners and participants were thrilled by the prospect of safeguarding the building for the community and to house our growing activity from The Workshop.“However, as is the very nature of processes such as these, there are some people and groups who are unsuccessful, and we are devastated that a group feels wronged in the process.“We were able to secure this building as our new home through the hard work of our staff, trustees and imagination of our community.”Given the county council’s vague response, it is unclear what impact The Margery Kempe Trust’s formal complaint will have.The Garage Trust is expected to start its lease at the Carnegie later this year, but this new development will cast question marks over that.