About the Organisation
New Mills Helping Hands is an independent foodbank serving our town New Mills and the surrounding villages, a population of our area approx. 15,000 spreads across a rural and at times isolated area. We deliver emergency food parcels to households where occupants are suffering financial hardship as well as signposting people to outside organisations that can offer further support.
The charity is very small with a simple set up, financed by donations from local people, supermarkets and with a 100% volunteer workforce. We set up in 2013 after recognising that some local people did not have the funds to fully feed themselves and had no immediate access to a foodbank often walking 10 miles to the nearest one.
New Mills is a relatively nice area but has lack of employment opportunities, key local services, transport issues and can be isolating for many of the residents. Out key aims include ensuring that emergency food supplies are available locally to anyone in need and to support people out of financial hardship.
In 2013 when the charity was set up, Derbyshire County Council (DCC) gave us sole permission to use a room in one of their buildings, where the charity has been in situ for the past 11 years. The foodbank store has always been secured using a padlock so that no members of the public including staff from the local authority could enter.
Request details
The local authority who owns the building they run the foodbank from recently advised volunteers that they intend to sell the building, asked them to pay a licence fee of £1750, to cover the legal fees and to formalise an agreement to use the store before they sell the property in March. Although this could potentially present them with increased security of tenure they are concerned and unsure why they have been approached about the sale and request for a licence fee particularly as a very small volunteer led charity.
The charity would appreciate legal advice and potentially representation to understand why the local authority have requested a licence fee and to explore a potential claim for Adverse Possession.
Timeline
URGENT