[Diggers350] Monkton Wyld community, new trustees at another UK countryside charity attempt ‘hostile takeover’

[Tony Gosling]

Monkton Wyld community, new trustees at another 
UK countryside charity attempt ‘hostile takeover’

https://tlio.org.uk/monkton-wyld-community-new-trustees-at-another-uk-charity-attempt-to-to-oust-founders/
<https://tlio.org.uk/monkton-wyld-community-new-trustees-at-another-uk-charity-attempt-to-to-oust-founders/>2 
August 2023 
<https://tlio.org.uk/author/tony/>Tony Gosling 
<https://tlio.org.uk/monkton-wyld-community-new-trustees-at-another-uk-charity-attempt-to-to-oust-founders/#respond>Leave 
a comment


Support group ‘Friends of Monkton Wyld’ was set up at the end of July

Updates: 
<https://www.monktonwyldcourtcase.co.uk>https://www.monktonwyldcourtcase.co.uk

Whilst all charities must change with new blood, 
in a failed economy one of the last ways to make 
money seems to be to find new and more 
imaginative ways to get hold of land, buildings 
and other assets that aren’t yours.

Trust is the word. If you can get yourself 
appointed s part of a voting majority on the 
board of a UK charity you can leverage the trust 
to your will. In time and in theory, you can 
alter the deed, commandeer trust assets and even, with luck, cash them in.

This isn’t how trusts are supposed to operate but 
the UK charity commission is so risk-averse, 
underfunded and unprincipled that when dubious 
activities, akin to theft, take place, they tend 
to insist on looking the other way.


Leveraged buyout: The Countryside Restoration Trust

Emacs!



In 2019 recent appointee David Mills, husband of 
actress Dame Judy Dench, became active on the 
board of renowned Cambridgeshire author and 
broadcaster Robin Page’s Countryside Restoration 
Trust charity. Over decades Robin had been 
donated and bequeathed over 2,000 acres, tens of 
millions of pounds worth of farmland and buildings.

This new board faction turned on Robin in 2021 
and voted him off the charity he’d founded, 
leaving him not just heartbroken, but quite 
rightly feeling robbed of the substantial fruits 
of his life’s conservation work.  To rub salt in 
the wounds the new clique changed the charity’s 
name to the Countryside Regeneration Trust, 
bringing in more commercially-minded new managers 
for the farms entrusted to them.

Emacs!

A wonderful old man who should have been enjoying 
his retirement was turned into a nervous wreck, 
seeing enemies everywhere, not knowing who he 
could trust. He thought the people who’d turned 
on him to take over his thousands of acres of farms, were his friends.

In fact, Robin told me late in 2022, they had 
indeed pretended to be friends and supporters, 
while secretly establishing a majority on the 
board to vote him out. Everything Robin ploughed 
into his trust was usurped, he said, by the sort 
of business managers he’d set it up to oppose. 
Robin died in the spring of 2023.


Hostile takeover: Monkton Wyld Court

The latest of these attempts to usurp the 
founders of a successful charity, incubating 
arts, the very best of tradition, social justice 
and not buying in to the ‘Net Zero’ dogma, is at 
the editorial HQ of 
<https://www.thelandmagazine.org.uk/>The Land 
Magazine at Monkton Wyld, near Lyme Regis in 
Dorset. Here, bullied editors Gill Barron and one 
of The Land Is Ours founders Simon Fairlie are now facing eviction.

Emacs!

<https://www.change.org/p/fighting-against-the-coup-d-%C3%A9tat-at-monkton-wyld-court>https://www.change.org/p/fighting-against-the-coup-d-%C3%A9tat-at-monkton-wyld-court

There is a decidedly neo-con political twist to 
the new trustees’ gang.  One of the faction 
trying to take over has links to Price Waterhouse 
Coopers, and, as a team, they stand to acquire a 
property worth millions to manage this 
purpose-built Victorian rural school the way they please.

<https://www.thelandmagazine.org.uk/>https://www.thelandmagazine.org.uk/

Please consider subscribing to 
<https://www.thelandmagazine.org.uk>The Land 
and/or joining the Friends of Monkton Wyld 
campaign, to help restore this community to its 
pre-2023 values and to terminate any hint of 
hijacking the magazine’s HQ along with Gill and Simon’s retirement.

Emacs!





Monkton Wyld: Timeline of Treachery – or – How 
Four New Trustees Destroyed our Community:

<https://www.monktonwyldcourtcase.co.uk/news/>As 
of 15 July, four members of the community have 
been ordered to leave by the new trustees; one 
member and one long term volunteer have resigned; 
two long term volunteers are on strike; and three 
trustees have resigned. Only two members of the 
community are still working, along with 
“blackleg” staff brought in by the trustees. Here is how it happened –

https://www.monktonwyldcourtcase.co.uk/

27 March 2023 A volunteer who we shall call “SW” 
applies to the Monkton Wyld Community for 
permanent residency after a six month trial 
period in the maintenance/ handyman role. To be 
accepted as a full member, an applicant has to 
win full consensus agreement of the whole 
community (otherwise pre-existing discord can be 
cemented into the community). Several people feel 
unsure of his suitability (because of a quick 
temper, and a tendency to be pushy) so his trial 
period is extended for another three months.

28 March The community receives an email from the 
trustees saying only that “issues have been 
raised and must be investigated by the trustees”. 
A long email correspondence follows over the next 
ten days in which the trustees drip feed us 
information: that the matter involves “contracts 
and behaviour” (29 March); that it is a workplace 
complaint (5 April); that the complaints are of 
bullying and harassment against Simon and Gill 
(12 April). Eventually, after pretending 
otherwise for two weeks, SW acknowledges what 
many suspect, that he is the source of the complaints.

12 April Kelly Marsden launches an investigation 
into these complaints without revealing to us 
what they consist of despite repeated requests 
from us to see them. Marsden claims that they are 
“whistleblowing complaints” (even though 
grievances over matters such as bullying are not 
normally regarded as whistleblowing) and we 
therefore have no right to see what we are 
charged with. Gill and I can therefore cannot respond to any of the evidence.

14 April Gill and I ask another member of the 
community to ask SW to inform us through a third 
party what his complaints are, as indeed he 
should have done under our normal community 
procedures and the terms of his volunteer 
contract. SW refuses and when Gill and I bump 
into him and ask him directly, the conversation 
rapidly becomes heated. We accuse him of 
disregarding the terms of his agreement, and he 
claims we are “Lord and Lady of the Manor”.

16 April As a result of this altercation, SW 
enters another complaint against Gill and me, 
claiming that he fears for his safety (he is in 
his forties, Gill and I are in our seventies). We 
receive an emailed warning from the trustees that 
if we ask him again we will be “asked to leave”.

20 April Kelly Marsden sends us an email accusing 
Gill and I of “blackmail” and stating, without 
citing a shred of evidence, “you both seem to 
have developed considerable influence over the 
community whereby others are brought around to 
agreeing with what you want through pressure and intimidation”.

26 April The trustees finally allow us to see a 
copy of SW’s letter of complaint. In the same 
email they send Kelly Marsden’s completed report, 
which entirely endorses SW’s complaints; and a 
summons to attend a disciplinary hearing on 2 
May. The report provides no concrete evidence in 
support of SW’s allegations. The charge of 
bullying  relies substantially on the events of 
14 April, which occurred after SW submitted his 
letter of complaint; and also on the fact that 
Gill and I objected to the kangaroo court 
procedure, which we have every right to do. She 
also repeats the charges that our “overbearing 
influence” serves to “maintain control over 
community decision-making” without citing a 
single community decision that could be said to 
have been forced through in this manner; or 
mentioning the fact that Gill never attends 
meetings. The evidence also relies on 
non-specific, undocumented allegations from four 
witnesses (out of a total of eleven). Since we do 
not know who these witnesses are, or what they 
said, we have no way of challenging their 
evidence, nor of assessing whether their evidence 
has been, twisted, cherry-picked or influenced by 
leading questions. None of this anonymous 
evidence would stand up in a court of law.

28 April Gill and I make a formal complaint 
against SW: that he failed to follow the 
complaints procedure laid down in his contract; 
and that he had applied for permanent membership 
of the community on false pretences, since he 
concealed from the community the fact that he had 
a week earlier submitted to the trustees a raft 
of complaints against community members, one of 
the trustees and the community as a whole. Our 
complaint is summarily dismissed by the trustees.

2 May Gill and I face a disciplinary committee. I 
provide a 12 page rebuttal of SW’s complaints and 
Kelly Marsden’s report, along with a 
comprehensive rebuttal of her report by community 
member Jared Hills. I also provided testimonies 
from all eight of the people who have assisted me 
on the farm over the last eight years. These are 
the people whom I have spent most time working 
with, yet none of them were invited to give 
evidence by Kelly Marsden, who has never visited 
Monkton nor met with any of the people concerned face-to-face.

3 May XXX XXX  MBE, who has been a trustee for 15 
years is subjected to a grilling on Zoom by all 
the other trustees, five out of six of whom have 
been trustees for only 4 months. In her words she is “coerced into resigning”.

8 May Jasmine Hills, a community member who runs 
the garden  makes a formal complaint, first to 
the community and then to the trustees  against 
SW’s aggressive behaviour towards her. The 
complaint is ignored by the trustees.

9 May Gill and I are informed of the outcome of 
the disciplinary inquiry: we are told we have to 
leave Monkton Wyld Court as soon as possible, and 
in any case within six months. No mention is made 
of the evidence I and Gill submitted, nor of the 
substantial testimony that we submitted in our 
favour from other people we have worked and lived with here.

10 May Asked in person why the trustees are 
pursuing this approach, one of the new trustees 
states “it is time for a change”.

11 May Student cinematographers, currently 
filming at Monkton Wyld as part of its 
educational remit, are forbidden by the trustees 
to film on site and ordered to destroy all 
footage. The trustees also phone the student’s 
college saying that they will call the police if 
filming continues. The college tells the students 
not to film. Oh dear, what sort of advice is that 
for budding investigative journalists?

16 May Jasmine Hills makes a further complaint 
against SW’s aggressive behaviour towards her. 
This is again ignored by the trustees.

18 May We are informed that two members of the 
Board of Trustees have resigned, leaving only four out of the original seven.

20 May Jasmine Hills is informed that she has to 
leave Monkton Wyld Court “with immediate effect”. 
This is because she “instigated” a meeting to 
review SW’s position in the community. The 
meeting (which has not been held yet) has to 
happen in June anyway , and most members of the 
community wish to bring it forward since there is 
no conceivable prospect of SW will be accepted into the community.

21 May Simon is told by the trustees that he is 
barred from his kitchen, dining room, toilets, 
bathroom and all other shared areas of the 
community household. He is also banned from 
attending community meetings. “Formal action will 
be taken” if he does not abide by these restrictions.

23 May Five community members and three long-term 
volunteers (eight out of eleven people 
altogether) sign a motion of no-confidence in the trustees.

30 May Simon and Gill are “invited”  to an appeal 
on 5 July. Even though it involves eviction from 
our home of 13 years,  it is just 45 minutes 
long, and on Zoom (which neither of us do). We 
have no right to bring a lawyer, call witnesses, 
or question those who have given evidence against 
us. The adjudicating panel consists of an HR 
expert and LG, the trustee who has been 
spearheading the campaign against us,  in other 
words the prosecutor is judge and jury. Simon and 
Gill refuse to attend on the grounds that it is a stitch-up

5 June The “Appeal Outcome” is delivered. Gill 
and Simon are given notice  “that you are no 
longer a community member of Monkton Wyld Court 
with immediate effect. This means that you are 
asked not to . . .(among other 
things)  participate in any community activity, 
including attending meetings and work activities 
. . . communicate verbally or in writing with 
community members, visitors, service users, 
service providers, students, clients or 
associates on any matter connected with Monkton Wyld Court. . . etc”

11 June  Fantastic response from members of the 
public at this years Scythe Fair in Somerset. 284 
people signed our petition, with 41 pages of 
comments from just a few hours in the afternoon. 
Thank you to everyone who signed for your support – it means a great deal.

14 June The trustees order Jasmine to stop 
working in the garden, saying that there should 
be a “lapse” in activity there until further notice.

15 June Our solicitor, who has 26 years 
experience in employment law drafts a letter on 
behalf of Simon to the trustees informing them 
that “All legal cases involving PIDA and the 
government and ACAS guidance on PIDA are clear 
that internal complaints of the nature raised by 
SW, are not ‘disclosures’ and should be dealt 
with using internal grievance procedures.. The 
non-justified use of PIDA has been relied upon by 
the Trustees as an excuse to override and ignore 
the clear process that is set out in the 
Community Staff Handbook for dealing with 
internal grievances and conflict resolution and 
disciplinary matters.” There has so far been no 
response to this letter from the trustees.

19-23 June  Since the main housekeeper is on 
strike, and both office workers are threatening 
resignation, the trustees bring in a certain 
fellow to work in the house and the office   This 
person has worked here before, but was found to 
be a heavy drinker and liar  who was witnessed 
stealing from our pub, and who made unwanted 
advances to women. The community is unanimous in 
not wanting him back, and three people informed 
the trustees of this fact. The trustees ignored 
these pleas, and drafted him in as blackleg 
labour. When the community presented documentary 
evidence of his unreliability, the trustees 
responded:  “We have concluded that there is no 
substance to your claims. You are not in full 
possession of the facts.” The trustees have never 
even met the fellow, while we all lived with him for several months.

21 June  SW embarks on a programme of trying to 
harass the members and residents of the 
community. He confiscates the communal car key, 
turns off the water in the garden, and brings in 
a lawnmower to replace the scythes which we have 
used for over 12 years to mow the lawns. Our 
groundsman hides the lawnmower, and the SW calls 
the police to report that it is stolen.

27 June As SW has completed his extended 
probationary period of 3 months, full members of 
the Community  review his performance. They 
decide that he is not a suitable person to be 
living here and give him four weeks notice to 
leave. Five members wish him to leave, and one 
abstains. Three other long term volunteers 
support this decision. SW is informed by letter.

28 June   The trustees demand £25,900 in 
outstanding rent from Simon, even though the 
value of the milk, cheese and yoghurt he has 
supplied’ plus improvements to the infrastructure 
well exceeds the value of the rent. They threaten 
court action if it is not paid immediately. Simon responds “sue and be damned”.

28 June The trustees charge Simon with £25,920 
rent arrears (including statutory interest of 8 
per cent) without bothering to ask to see his 
accounts, later still not having viewed his 
accounts – “.. if you do not make immediate 
payment of the arrears. Our next step will be to 
apply to the court and pursue the claim for rent 
arrears, which will inevitably incur additional 
costs for you..”. In fact Monkton Wyld Court owes 
Simon over £10,000 for improvements in the event 
that he leaves the premises, and there is 
abundant documented evidence to support this.

4 July With the resignation of two office 
workers, and the main housekeeper on strike, LG 
the London based trustee who is the architect of 
the coup comes down to help fill these roles for 
a few days. She also brings down her daughter as 
a “ volunteer” and immediately gives her the 
freedom to enter our office from which we 
ourselves are now barred. Entry to the office 
would never normally be granted to a volunteer 
who had only worked here one day. There would 
appear to be a conflict of interest here.

5 July An ad hoc group of community members, long 
term volunteers and three former trustees decide 
to call a public meeting. Its main purpose would 
be to form an association of “Friends of Monkton 
Wyld Court” whose objective would be to advise 
the trustees and help safeguard the welfare of the charity.

11 July On returning home from holiday, office 
worker JL is told by the trustees to leave the 
premises forthwith, and without pay. Meanwhile the office sits unstaffed.


Former BBC presenter Robin Page is sacked from the CRT charity he founded

09 June 2021 by Stephen Delahunty

<https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/former-bbc-presenter-sacked-charity-founded/governance/article/1718518>https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/former-bbc-presenter-sacked-charity-founded/governance/article/1718518

The Countryside Restoration Trust said it had 
removed the One Man and His Dog star with immediate effect

A former BBC presenter has been sacked from the 
charity he founded after trustees accused him of 
failing to observe standards of governance and 
damaging the charitys reputation.

Emacs!


In March, a war of words broke out between Robin 
Page, founder of the Countryside Restoration 
Trust and a former presenter of the BBC sheepdog 
trials programme One Man and His Dog, and the charity’s trustees.

Page claimed he was being “bullied out” of the 
charity, which he started with one farm in 1993, 
by a group of greedy elderly men who wanted to 
take the charity away from its members.

The charity, which has since grown to manage 18 
properties around the UK, denied this was the case.

It said Page’s role as executive chair was being 
concluded on legal advice, but he had been invited to continue as a trustee.

In a statement on its website yesterday, the 
charity said it had passed a resolution to remove 
Page as a company member with immediate effect.

This follows repeated public criticism of 
strategic decisions taken by the charity, 
including those he had supported as a trustee, 
and his failure to observe standards of 
governance required of a CRT trustee,” it said.

By doing so, he has damaged the charitys 
reputation and, despite extensive efforts to work 
constructively with Robin, the trustees have 
reluctantly concluded that the relationship has broken down irretrievably.

The charity said it was in the process of 
reforming its organisational structure to help 
manage growth under a strengthened senior 
management team, and thanked Page for his many years of dedication.

We are confident that the plans we have for its 
future growth will be in keeping with his vision 
to create a working countryside, where sensitive 
farming practices encourage and protect wildlife 
but also produce high-quality produce, the charity said.

Page did not respond to a request for comment, 
but appeared to acknowledge the news on social media.

In a tweet he said: The CRT website about me in 
my view lie, after lie after lie.

They are thick too they threw me out three weeks after I had left.

“About normal for that band of nodding donkeys.
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