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Brian Deer: the Westway scandal

This 2001 Sunday Times investigation by Brian Deer will grip only afficianados of
the Westway Development Trust - an obscure London property developer known until 2002 as the North Kensington Amenity Trust. WorldCom it ain't, but it hints at what you could get away with in the UK, given the benefits of charity status




   
Notting Hell: Although backed by the Prince of Wales, headed by a judge and feted by voluntary organisations, in the poor west London community around Ladbroke Grove where in the 1970s it had acquired 23 acres of free land, the Westway Development Trust was notorious. Asked by local people to investigate, Brian Deer exposed how for years the trust had distorted the meaning of charity: misleading authorities, squandering public money and suing opponents. The Sunday Times Magazine June 17 2001
   
"Yes - local charities": Despite helping to establish a national development trusts association, claiming economic regeneration as its charitable purpose, the Westway Development Trust went to unusually suspicious lengths to prevent the local authority from collecting taxes for services to a wholly-for-profit local nightclub for which it was the landlord. The document at this link was written by Brian Deer to guide newspaper lawyers through this mysterious scam on the community [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Held in trust: Scene under the Westway at London's Ladbroke Grove
The names change: But do the games stay the same? Although headed for nearly nine years by Old Bailey judge Gerald Gordon, the Westway Development Trust had established a number of surprising commercial arrangements. The document at this link concerns the colourful business partner with whom the trust had for more than 20 years operated a street market, adjacent to the famous Portobello Road - collecting huge sums from stallholders in poorly-accounted cash [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Taken at face value: Following the Notting Hell story's publication, an emergency full meeting of the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea council was called, at which the Conservative Party blocked demands from the Labour opposition to refer the trust to the Charity Commission. The district auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers, however, was instructed to report on the council's dealings with the Westway Development Trust and, though not empowered to investigate the trust, yielded a damning picture [1] [2] [3]
The iron fist of benevolence: Despite its status as a registered charity, critics of the Westway Development Trust were often subjected to barrages of complaints, threats and even lawsuits. This working document by Brian Deer summarises the trust's perverse libel pursuit of a local bicycle repair man, Lyn Hardy-Smith, damaging the hapless defendant's health, squandering an estimated £100,000 in legal costs and terrorising others who might think of complaining about the trust's extraordinary conduct
   
The land grab: In the early 1970s, the Westway Development Trust sprang from protests against a disruptive motorway construction (right) and calls to help the socially-deprived community. But the trust's board was packed with Chelsea Conservatives, and it changed course to found a leisure empire. This memo [1] [2] shows how the land was secured - with help from His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales
Gone but not defeated: Living on a council estate right beside the Westway flyover, local tenants' leader Kathleen Kelly was one of the most outraged and active opponents of the trust's destructive antics, spearheading countless actions to defend the community. Sadly, she died before the Notting Hell story was published, but battled on posthumously in the Kensington & Chelsea News
On your honour: As the founding aims were junked for upscale leisure - including a nightclub, fitness club and cocktail bar (built with public money earmarked for a job centre) - a raft of contracts was negotiated by an inner circle at the trust, including Gerald Gordon. But what a judge was doing involved in such matters, let alone presiding over such controversies, hasn't been explained. Here is the judges' code of conduct
No story here: As the investigation went ahead, dozens of letters of complaint about Brian Deer were received by The Sunday Times from the trust or its lawyers, including the three examples filed at this link, from Roger Matland, Gerald Gordon and Martin Owen. They denied any misconduct at the trust, and argued that actions were in the best interests of the registered charity
   

Image problem: Photographs of Westway land - some of which has gone undeveloped for 30 years - tell a tale of waste that has left many asking why it wasn't just sold to the highest bidder

 Called to account: Year-on-year figures for losses on the Westway Development Trust's Portobello Green Fitness Club suggest amazing increases in efficiency after this investigation
Contact Brian Deer: Years have passed since this investigation of the Westway Development Trust, much change has taken place, and many of the individuals have moved on. If you wish to contact Brian Deer, about this or anything, please use this link