In May 2018 the secretary of NEMT sent the Secretary of NFHT a letter of intent which promised that the latter would receive the balance from the sale of a flat in Jesmond:-
At the NEMT board meeting on 16th May 2018, the following resolution was passed:
“That NEMT would sell the upper flat and retain the lower flat for its sole use in the future. NEMT would make a donation to NFHT of the proceeds of the sale of the upper flat of an amount equal to the monies realised from the sale, less an amount to defray all costs of renovation of both flats up to the point of sale, including all professional, legal and estate agents’ fees, council tax, utilities, loan costs and interest etc.”
Six months later the Secretary of NEMT had changed the promise to a credit note, which suggested that NEMT had not received the funds from the solicitors to share out:-
Re: The Boathouse
Thank you for your letter of 22nd October in which you asked about the credit remaining on the payments NFHT have made in respect of your usage of the Boathouse.
Based on a weekly rate that our trustees have agreed for like-minded charitable organisations such as yourselves for occupying the slipway of £50 and of £100 being the cost of slipping a boat into and out of the Boathouse, the number of weeks that you have used the Boathouse for the renovations on ‘Peggy’ (49 weeks) and later on ‘Rachel Douglas’ (3 weeks) and two slipping fees, the position is as follows:
The charge for Peggy is calculated at £2,250 and
The charge for Rachel Douglas is calculated at £250.
If you intend to pay the full amount (of £12,000) as outlined in your initial proposal of April 2015, this would leave a remaining notional credit of some 184 weeks of Boathouse occupancy, less any costs associated with slipping fees, as above.
Unfortunately the author, Jerry Dudman, passed away in 2020 so why he presented the combined debt as an estimate of 184 weeks of occupancy is not known but having dealt with him for a good number of years I can say that he was not being unreasonable because its value works out at something between £10 and 15k.
It transpires that the share owed to NFHT from the sale of the flat turned out to be 14k and along with the residue of 12k which is believed to be about £4k leaves a total of 18k owed by NEMT to NFHT.
If we look at paper produced for the NEMT meeting of November 25th 2022, North East Maritime Trust – Notice of Proposals 1&2, the second proposal shows that they intend (write) off the debt to NFHT altogether.
Proposal 2 Our research indicates that credit which has been available to NFHT since its contribution to the boatshed in 2017 and further agreed at meeting in 2019 is to be reassessed. This credit has in fact been far surpassed by the amount of time used and work already carried out jointly by NEMT and its members’ volunteer labour to the benefit of NFHT. It is therefore intended to draw a line under any assumed credit available to NFHT. Any objection to these proposals should be made in writing no later than 7th January 2023.
Alec Renwick. Chairperson
This is a written objection and whether one calls the arbitrary cancellation of a debt embezzlement, misappropriation or theft, it is still a criminal offence.
M Dawson
6th January 2023