Do you support Free Speech and Anti-Discrimination?

Reply from Town Council

Totally shirking any responsibility. Their letter is below and I have already sent an email to the council with a FOI request to see their leasing agreement. My legal advisor has suggested we keep the petition going and also get some press coverage, so I will be writing to the SNL and WDP on this issue and also challenging this at a council meeting. Following this, with no remedy I will take legal action against the council.

COMPLAINT ABOUT EVENT CANCELLATIONS AT LANSDOWN HALL
Thank you for your letter 22 January. As previously advised your letter has been considered as a complaint and assessed under the terms of the Council's Complaints Policy a copy of which you have received in the post

Your letter refers to the cancellation of events at both Lansdown Hall and "other public venues in the Stroud District". For clarity, please note that Stroud Town Council only owns two public venues - Lansdown Hall and the Subscription Rooms. We are the parish council for Stroud and have no jurisdiction over any other venues in Stroud or the wider Stroud District.

With regard to Lansdown Hall, as previously advised whilst the Council owns the property, it is leased to the Lansdown Hall and Gallery charity (the Charity) who have complete discretion over which events are held at the property. The same applies to the Stroud Subscription Rooms Trust.

Turning to the key issues you raised:

Failure to Provide Justification: This is a matter for the Charity to respond to.

Breach of Public LawPrinciples: This does not apply because Stroud Town Council does not retain oversight of the venue's programme of events.

Possible Discrimination: This does not apply because Stroud TownCouncil does not retain oversight of the venue's programme of events.

Interference with Freedom of Expression: This does not apply because Stroud Town Council docs not retain oversight of the venue's programme of events.

Requested Actions
1 and 2 Stroud Town Council were not involved in or consulted on the cancellation of any events at Lansdown Hall so are not able to provide an explanation for the criteria used or the reasons for any cancellations.

3 The management arrangements arc contained in the lease of the property. The lease does not give the Council any oversight or authority over decisions made by the Charity about events.

The Council is not able to make any commitment about future events at lansdown Hall
for as long as it is leased to the Charity.

With regard to your proposed potential next steps, please note that charities are not subject to Freedom ofInformation rules.

With regard to your email 2nd January 2025. I can confirm that complaints policy I sent to you is current.

Members of the public may attend Council meetings to raise questions, but the Council is not required to provide an answer. If you do plan to attend, please could you let me know in advance so that we can ensure seating is made available,

If you are unhappy with the response to your complaint you may appeal - please see
the Complaints Policy for further information.

Yours faithfully

Helen Bojaniwska FSLCC
Chief Executive Officer (Town Clerk).

Reply from Town Council

I received a reply from the CEO of the Town Council saying they are considering the complaint, and they sent me their Code of Practice for complaints. Still heard not a dicky bird from the Charity. The Code of Practice states that there 'may be an opportunity' for me/us to raise the issue at a council meeting, so I will - but only after replying to their letter asking them to confirm that the 'may' is changed to a 'will' as I'm not wasting my time going to a council meeting on a 'may be an opportunity' basis. I'll let you all know how it goes from here.

Next steps for a solution to Lansdown censorship.

After consulting my 'Law AI system' we have written another letter to the council and the charity. If they continue to ignore us there could be legal action. 

22 January 2025

Subject: Formal Complaint Regarding Event Cancellations at Lansdown Hall and Other Public Venues in the Stroud District

Dear Helen and Fred,

I am writing to express my deep concern and disappointment regarding the repeated cancellation of events at Lansdown Hall and other public venues, particularly those aimed at informing the public about important health matters. As a resident of Stroud and a member of the community served by these venues, I feel these cancellations are both unjust and a potential infringement on the rights of myself and others to access vital information in a public forum.

Background

Lansdown Hall, as I understand it, is owned by Stroud Town Council and operated by the Lansdown Hall and Gallery Charity. This venue plays a critical role in our community by providing a space for education, dialogue, and public events. However, there appears to be a troubling pattern whereby events addressing certain health-related topics have been cancelled arbitrarily, without any explanation or justification.

One such example is the refusal to allow the screening of the film ‘Protocol 7’ by the World Council for Health, as evidenced by the response from the charity, which stated: “At the last board meeting, the Trustees discussed the film screening and took the decision not to allow it to be shown here at the hall.” This blanket decision, devoid of any substantive reasoning, raises serious concerns about fairness, transparency, and the governance of our public spaces.

These cancellations have sparked significant frustration within the community. A petition opposing these actions has already been signed by over 160 residents and continues to grow. This lack of transparency and accountability undermines trust in the decision-making processes of those responsible for managing these public venues.

Key Issues

1. Failure to Provide Justification:
   The repeated cancellation of events without any reasonable explanation or clear criteria undermines the role of Lansdown Hall as a community resource. Such actions also raise concerns about fairness and impartiality in how decisions are being made.
2. Breach of Public Law Principles:
   If Stroud Town Council retains oversight of the venue, these cancellations may be subject to judicial review. Under public law principles, public bodies are required to act reasonably, follow proper procedures, and provide justifications for their decisions. Arbitrary cancellations without transparency or due process could amount to a breach of these principles.
3. Possible Discrimination:
   The Equality Act 2010 prohibits discrimination based on protected characteristics, including philosophical belief. Cancelling events based on their subject matter or the perceived beliefs of organisers or attendees could amount to discrimination against those holding certain views, particularly when such events aim to inform the public about important health matters.
4. Interference with Freedom of Expression:
   Repeated cancellations of events may violate Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the right to freedom of expression, including the right to receive and impart information. Preventing the discussion of lawful topics in a public venue could amount to undue interference with this right.

Requested Actions

In light of the above, I kindly request the following actions:

1. A written explanation from Stroud Town Council and the Lansdown Hall Charity detailing the reasons for these cancellations and the criteria used to assess events hosted at Lansdown Hall. I note that I have not yet received a response from the charity to my letter dated 12 December 2024.
2. A full review of the decision-making process to ensure that it aligns with public law principles, the Equality Act 2010, and obligations under Article 10 of the ECHR.
3. Confirmation of the management arrangements for the venue, including whether Stroud Town Council retains any oversight or authority over decisions made by the charity.
4. A commitment to ensuring that future events at Lansdown Hall or any other public venue are assessed in a fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory manner, with written reasons provided for any cancellations.

Next Steps

If no satisfactory response is received within 14 days, I will be left with no choice but to escalate this matter. Potential next steps may include:

• Filing a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to obtain further details regarding the management of Lansdown Hall and the decision-making processes behind these cancellations.
• Seeking legal advice on pursuing remedies through judicial review or an injunction.
• Raising awareness within the local community and media about the lack of transparency and fairness in how our public venues are being managed.

Additionally, please note that the petition I referenced continues to gather support and has already exceeded 160 signatures. Many members of the community are prepared to pursue crowdfunding to cover legal costs, should this issue remain unresolved. However, I sincerely hope this step will not be necessary, and that we can work together to reach an amicable resolution.

I trust that you will give this matter the urgent attention it deserves, as it has caused widespread dissatisfaction within the local community. I am happy to meet with representatives from Stroud Town Council or Lansdown Hall Charity to discuss this matter further and explore constructive solutions.

Thank you for your attention to this important issue. I look forward to your prompt response.

Yours faithfully,

XXXXX XXXXXX on behalf of 160+ extremely disgruntled residents

Update on the Charity Commission.

I heard back from the Commission that they are not going to investigate. Apparently they only get involved with serious issues. As if witholding crucial information from the public, acting as the thought police, is not a serious issue. Neither have I received any reply from the Charity that runs the hall. But we are used to being ignored when logic is flawed by corruption. So I will look into possiby bringing legal action or getting an injunction, but I'm not confident about this as they haven't broken any law I can think of, they are just spineless low-life easily compromised for a cosy life. Thanks everyone for signing the petition and for those who have personally written to the charity. I wonder if they received 162 personal letters would it make a difference? I'll let you know if there is a legal angle we can take.

Complain to the Charities Commission

We now have 154 signatories in the petition!

Having not yet had a reply from the charity I have logged a complaint with the charities commission, and another concerned resident has done the same. The more people who complain the more likely the commission is to take this issue seriously.

It only takes a few minutes to log a complaint - if you can please do! Here's the website ..

https://forms.charitycommission.gov.uk/

The charity registration number is 1056355

And have a very merry xmas and new year!

Letter posted to charity trustees

I posted the letter this morning to all the trustees of the charity running Lansdown Hall. They should receive it by tomorrow or Monday latest. It's not possible for me to attach the letter here, so I have uploaded it to the 'Stand in the Park Stroud' Telegram channel for anyone wishing to read it.

We're up to 80 signatories! Let's keep it going, the more we have the stronger our case with the Charity Commission and the Court should it need to go that far.

David.

Next Steps

I am delighted to say we have 75 signatures now, and some excellent comments. The next step is to write to the charity with a Notice before Action letter, and I would like to include many of the comments made in the petition, but anonymously. The letter will suggest a remedy along the lines of a public apology, a written statement that no further cancelling will occur, and Lansdown to host Protocol 7 for free before the end of January 2025. If anyone would rather their comments not be inluded in the letter please let me know at skymanmuse@pm.me (no names will be included). I intend to post the letter to the trustees tomorrow, Thursday 12th December. I will publish the letter here once posted.

In the meantime, let's keep the petition going and see if we can hit the 100!

Thank you all for signing and for your comments.

David.

Quick update and strategy

I'm delighted that we have gathered 57 signatories in such a short time. Thank you all, and thanks to those who have added comments. I want to get this to over 100 if possible, so I'll keep sharing in our local groups, and please do same if you can.

My strategy is to send the results of the survey to the charity that runs Lansdown Hall and seek a solution through dialogue with them. Before doing this I will ask your permission to include your comments and first part of your post code. No names will be revealed. But if they don't want to cooperate then the next step is to report them to the Charities Commission and threaten legal action.

Let's get it to 100+ in the next week or so.

Our voices will be heard!

David.

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