We are very saddened to hear that tenants have been or are in the process of being evicted. As trustees of the Glasspool Charity Trust we sought assurances regarding our tenants, their rights and protection  from our selling agents at the time of the negotiations. We were assured that they would be protected within the law.  We have no power to prevent a new owner from reviewing their position with the existing tenancies post-sale.

Our founder bequeathed his estate with the sole aim of helping people out of poverty. That charitable aim has continued with the use of investment income to provide grants directly to individuals and families in need.   In order to be able to provide these grants  the trustees realised that they had to sell the Charity’s directly held properties to maximise the amount of money the charity could give away.  It was a difficult decision to take but the Trust was not established as a social housing provider. The sale of the remaining 63 units in Butterfields were the last directly owned properties of the Trust.

However, the sale of the properties has meant that in the last 15 years the Trust  has been able to increase the amount of money it gives away from around £200,000 a year to nearly £1.5 million a year, a 750 per cent increase.  In 2014/5 this resulted in 5,300 grants, supporting more than 11,000 individuals and families in hardship at a time when government and local authority are cutting back. 

As trustees, we take our responsibility to our staff and to the communities we serve very seriously.