Please, Mr Blair

The T&A is urging Mr Blair to change the regulations governing the Charity Commission. We ask that a last-minute loophole which blocked the project be reversed.

As we exclusively reported on January 16, the Allerton and Lower Grange Young People's Project's plan to build a caf in Ladyhill Park, Allerton, as a memorial to their tragic friend Caroline Bacon, was dramatically refused after four years of planning.

The Charity Commission - to which the park was endowed in 1911 - confirmed it did not have the power to sell or lease the site to the teenagers.

Now the Telegraph & Argus, backed by Bradford West MP Marsha Singh, is determined to take the fight all the way to Downing Street, demanding that the Commission be able to change the constitution of the trust and allow its trustees - Bradford Council - to sell the land to the youngsters.

Michelle Stack, 19, one of Caz's friends and a member of the Young People's Project, said: "I'm delighted that the T&A has taken up this cause for us.

"We were all looking forward to building the caf and will definitely be prepared to carry on the fight with your backing."

Marsha Singh said: "I was very saddened by the Charity Commission's decision.

"It must be time to look at the regulations covering the Charity Commission if it can be so inflexible."

Caroline's mum, Jenny Bacon, has also thrown her weight behind the campaign.

She said: "The more publicity we can get for the project the better.

"I would like to thank the T&A's editor, Mr Perry Austin-Clarke, for taking this matter further. If you just sit back and let things happen, they will never change - you have to stand up and be counted."

The project to build the caf was sparked by the death of 16-year-old Caroline who died after taking the Pill.

Her friends received a lottery grant of £316,000 to build a memorial cafe to their friend, but found out from the Charity Commission at the 11th hour that red tape meant that the project could never go ahead.

A spokesman from the Charity Commission explained: "The park is held in trust as a public pleasure ground. And it is still fully used for this purpose to this day.

"There's considerable opposition from local users about the erection of a building because that would reduce the park from being used as a public pleasure ground.

"The trustees of the charity do not have the power to use part of the park for different purposes other than those stated in the constitution."

Dear Mr Blair

You are known to be eager to promote a bright, vibrant, youthful image for Britain. So perhaps you might be willing and able to help a group of young Bradford people whose efforts to create something positive for the future have been frustrated by rules which are rooted in the past.

The story began in May, 1994, when 16-year-old Caroline Bacon, known to her friends as Caz, died of a stroke - a side-effect of taking the contraceptive pill Femodine ED, which was prescribed without her parents' knowledge.

Her friends wanted to create a living memorial to Caz, and decided to try to establish a community caf in the park which had been their favourite meeting place. Lady Hill Park, in the Allerton district of Bradford, had been endowed to the Charity Commission long ago. Bradford Council maintains it, as the park's trustee.

Acting in a businesslike manner, the friends formed themselves into the Lower Grange and Allerton Young People's Project and set about fund-raising and tackling the challenges thrown up by bureaucracy.

Two years later they won £316,000 for the scheme from the National Lottery and the project was granted outline planning permission by Bradford Council, which was convinced of its worth. Unfortunately it also encountered opposition from some people living nearby, which tied the hands of the Charity Commission when it came to deciding the way forward.

The constitution of the trust as it presently exists does not allow the trustees to sell or lease the land to the Young People's Project. Hopes were raised when the commission admitted that it might be possible to change the constitution, but then dashed again when it said that as the change would be contentious it would be "difficult to enact".

It was suggested that the caf might be sited elsewhere. That was unacceptable to the young people. There was a powerful symbolic reason for wanting the caf to be in Lady Hill Park. Nowhere else would do. So now they have admitted defeat and decided to return the money to the Lottery Board. Their poignant letter on this page explains why. They have learned a hard lesson in how complicated and intransigent the adult world sometimes can be.

We are appealing to you on their behalf because you have the authority to initiate a change in the regulations. As Bradford West MP Marsha Singh has said, we have to look at ways to enable the Charity Commission to be more flexible. It needs to be able to bow more readily to the changes which have taken place in the world since the terms of the park's trust were set.

We need, surely, to do all we can to encourage young people who show the initiative and commitment to tackle a project of this sort - one which would provide the teenagers of the district with a place of their own to meet rather than leaving them to hang about the streets, with all the temptations that can bring.

Please, Mr Blair, help the Charity Commission to cut through the red tape and let the members of the Lower Grange and Allerton Young People's Project create the memorial they want to the girl whose friendship meant such a lot to them.

Yours sincerely,

Perry Austin-Clarke, Editor

Caz's pals say thanks to T&A readers:

Dear T&A readers,

As you know, we've been trying to get Caz's Caf up and running for nearly four years. Ever since we thought up Caz's Caf, we've had hurdles put up in front of us, and always something new blocking our path. Just when we thought we'd won we had to fight something else.

The time has come to say enough is enough. It's out of our hands. It's red tape we can't cut. The Charity Commission won't change its mind and we are definitely not changing the site of Caz's Caf.

Caz loved the park and spent many happy hours of her life there. That's one of the main reasons we chose the park. We know we've got our memories of Caz. Ones we will always treasure and will always stay with us forever, throughout our lives. We'd rather have those happy memories rather than sad ones of a failed venture, because that's what would happen to Caz's Caf if it was put on another site.

Our business plan would crumble, as it was based on profits from around that area. To put it anywhere else is just wanting it to fail. We know we could fight for another ten years, but we can no longer stand getting upset and being stressed.

We have come to the decision to give the money back to the Lottery board. To tell them the circumstances and the reasons why.

This letter is mostly directed to you, to say thank you. Thank you for supporting us, helping us, but mostly for believing in us. Without you we would have given up a long time ago. We will never see it as a failure. We see it as the biggest learning experience of our lives and we are grateful for it. For the sad and happy times. We'll never forget the skills we've gained and the people we've met. We've learned to love life and take every opportunity handed to us.

No one will ever know how much hurt it's caused us all to make such a decision and it does hurt deep down inside, but no one will ever be able to feel our pain. We just hope our decision will be respected and understood.

Yours,

Lower Grange and Allerton Young People's Project.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.