At their November meeting, they voted narrowly to elect four councillors to sit on the management committee of the Caistor Multi Use Centre, even though the management committee was disbanded 18 months ago and replaced with an eight strong board of directors.


Mayor Steve Webster explained to members that although originally there had been four councillors on the management committee, there had been a change of constitution and councillors were no longer members, although some councillors were members of the board in their private capacity.


“If it’s now a limited company and councillors have no right to be members, what is the point of electing four members?” he asked.


However, Coun Andre Wilkin said the Multi Use Centre was a community resource.


“There is no reason why they should not allow there to be additional directors to include councillors,” he said. “We can’t have the situation where funds were allocated off the back of the town council and then say the town council can’t sit on the Multi Use Centre board.”


Proposing the council elect four members, Coun Mike Stockwood said the constitution of the Multi Use Centre when it was set up was that the committee be four members of the town council and four members of the Caistor Development Partnership and he believed it was not constitutional for that to have been altered.


Four councillors voted to elect four members at the next meeting in December, whilst three voted against and two abstained.


Caistor Development Partnership chairman Roy Schofield said the original business plan for the centre proposed the original management committee be made up of four CDP members and four town councillors and this committee plus senior representatives from the Multi Use Centre Group at Lincolnshire County Council met on a regular basis to get the centre up and running.


“Part of the set up process included the engagement of solicitors organised through the Pro-help scheme to advise on the governance of the CMUC and they recommended a company limited by guarantee,” he said.


“This was accepted by the management committee and LCC officers. The solicitors registered the company, Caistor Multi Use Centre Ltd, with Companies House and it was incorporated on March 26 2007.


“The company was also registered with the Charity Commission on July 30 2007 and is therefore now also a registered charity.


“The original eight members of the management committee are now directors of CMUC Ltd and also trustees of the charity.The company CMUC Ltd is a legal entity in its own right and controlled by the directors in the same way as any other company.


“This was all approved by the CMUC Management Committee and did not require permission from anyone else.”