NOW UPDATED (previously published 11-11-2025) This is a message for the nine [now eight] Datchet Parish Councillors (as named below) and in particular the Chair and the Clerk – who have for seven months OVER ONE YEAR attempted to snatch control of the DRCCT – a local independent charity – from the properly appointed Trustees. The Sabatini Land belongs to the DRCCT. Datchet Parish Council has no lease, license or agreement on 1 Allen Way and has been asked to vacate the building.
THE MESSAGE: The names of the genuine DRCCT Trustees – since April 2019 – may be found on the DRCCT Accounts on the Charity Commission web site here
Two individuals at Datchet Parish Council — its Chairman and its Clerk — are directing public resources toward illegally assuming control of assets they have no right to. They have tried this before. They lost. They are trying again. This DRCCT page records what they have done and asks Datchet residents to hold them to account.
The updated DRCCT web site page can be found here
THE BACKGROUND: In mid-April 2025 nine [now eight] Datchet Parish Councillors (named here in their own statement) voted at a meeting in Windsor (called by Cllr Buckley – DPC Chair) to take control of the Datchet Recreation Centre Charity Trust (No. 252303). The decision was taken after consideration of the Clerks report (not a public document, then deleted from the Dropbox and still being hidden despite repeated requests). Next morning there was a dawn raid on the Datchet Village Hall in order to assert their authority, to change the locks and to demand the Hall booking takings from the Hall Manager. [Seven months] One year later (May 2026) – and not only have these nine [now eight] Councillors failed to hijack the DRCCT but also they are still using the DPC web site , and money, to promote their failed case and damage the Trustees reputations.
The DPC Chair and the Parish Clerk continue to assert rights that they do not possess and furthermore to claim that www.drcct.org is not an official web site
The names of the Councillors are shown on their (now amended) public statement that you can find on the DPC web site here
[Please note that there has been some progress: The original document was dated 15.04.25. The date and the following information has now been removed]
For further information contact – Steevan Glover Mob 07900218624 / Steevanglover@gmail.com
For additional comment contact David Buckley DPC chairman cllr.dbuckley@datchetparishcouncil.gov.uk
Ian Bacon New Interim DRCCT Chairman – ian.drcct@gmail.com
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PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED 12 AUGUST 2025
Some newly co-opted Councillors and the Clerk on Datchet Parish Council are still asserting that they manage the DRCCT. They are wrong – and the local Council Tax payers will pay the bill for this dispute. For the 2015 Datchet Parish election there were 23 nominations for 15 places. In early 2019 (when all the former DRCCT trustees resigned) there were insufficient nominations to justify a DPC election and only ten nominations for 15 places at the 2023 election. Two of those elected have since resigned – leaving only eight ‘elected’ Councillors. [Now nine because Adam Buck was elected in August 2025] The remainder are co-options.
I have lived in Datchet since 1977 and was first elected to Datchet Parish Council (DPC) in 1986. Whatever has been claimed or asserted – you have my personal assurance that DPC IS NOT AND NEVER HAS BEEN the sole managing trustee of the Datchet Recreation Centre Charitable Trust (DRCCT). I can confirm that there has been some confusion and significant expenditure on this problem in the past. Since being appointed in 2019 I have examined the relevant DRCCT documentation that dates back over 50 years. I would be happy to see any evidence supporting what I consider to be the spurious, unfounded and unsubstantiated claims by DPC. I expect that I will have to wait some time.
It is interesting to note that Datchet Parish Council already has significant income derived mainly from the precept (the local tax that was raised by 83% last year 2025/26 and 37%? this year 2026/27) and from land/buildings owned by DPC.
The DRCCT holds significant assets but has no ability to raise funds through taxation. The DRCCT annual income is tiny when compared with DPC income, and comes from Hall booking receipts and building lease/rentals. DRCCT administration costs are virtually nil because the appointed Trustees are unpaid. The DRCCT Annual Report and Accounts are submitted firstly to DPC and then the Charity Commission every year. The DRCCT 2023/24 and 2024/25 Annual Accounts, financial performance and Trustees can be located (and downloaded) from the Charity Commission web site here.
The 2025/26 accounts have still to be finalised and will be uploaded in time to meet the nine-month submission deadline .
You can be assured that the 2025/26 accounts will make very interesting reading. [2025/26 Accounts are with the Accountant]
The previous report (Datchet Parish Councillors continue in their attempt to hijack a local charity – posted on June 1, 2025) can be found here.
A previous report about ‘Nine Datchet Parish Councillors named in failed attempt to hijack local Charity assets’ can be found here.
For further explanation try:
Understanding Charitable Trusts: The Datchet Recreation Centre Situation
Meanwhile you can also be confident that the DRCCT will continue to be managed for the benefit of the community by a small group of unpaid, loyal, trustworthy, reliable, experienced and capable local people who will take personal responsibility for their decisions and actions rather than hide beneath the ‘corporate liability’ umbrella .
I look forward to this issue being resolved as soon as possible but DPC continues to assert rights that they do not possess and furthermore to claim that www.drcct.org is not an official web site
While the dispute remains unresolved it is important to note that some contact and address information on the Charity Commission web site is incorrect simply because the Clerk has changed the details and locked out the de facto Trustees.
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