Council could receive slap on wrist for Highdown Gardens ownership mix-up

A mix-up over the ownership of Highdown Gardens in Worthing could see the borough council receive a slap on the wrist from the Charity Commission.

The 8.5-acre gardens were left to the then town council in the 1960s and the Highdown Tower Garden and Pleasure Ground charitable trust was created.

Members of the joint governance committee were told that, until recently, the council had been operating under the mistaken belief that it was the freehold owner of the gardens, when in fact it was the sole trustee of the trust.

While embarrassing for the council, there has been no negative impact on the gardens, which have benefited from tens of thousands of pounds of maintenance work paid for by the borough every year.

The main problem involves the financial returns and annual reports to the Charity Commission, which ‘have been inaccurate for many years’.

In 1983, the council sold the gardens’ East Lodge without permission from the commission. It was ordered to invest the £27,700 from the sale and put the income back into the upkeep of the gardens.

This was done – but other public donations were not included in the returns.