A paragraph from External Auditor email
Your objections were received by us during the Council’s public rights period and have been copied to the Council. The items in Objections 1 and 2 are all linked to governance assertions or items of account in the 2025/26 AGAR and the grounds for the objections have been explained; they would therefore be considered to be eligible in those respects. We will be in touch in due course with our decision regarding the acceptance of any eligible objections for further consideration.
Brief background:
I complained to the External Auditor four months ago in June 2026. Some members of Datchet Parish Council (DPC) are continuing (since April 2025) in their attempt to hijack the valuable assets of the Datchet Recreation Centre Charity Trust (DRCCT). These assets belong to the community – not the DPC. I actually warned the DPC Councillors at a Council Meeting – that if the Annual Report to the External Auditor claimed that DRCCT assets belonged to DPC – I would submit a formal complaint to the External Auditor. The Clerk sent the unaltered and questionable document to the External Auditor and I then submitted my formal complaint. I have objected to:
1. the response given to Assertion 9 of the 2025/26 AGAR
2. the Section 2, Box 9 figure which I believe to be materially inaccurate.
The cost:
Any investigation by the External Auditor is going to be very expensive – maybe £2.5k per day – and it is DPC who will pay the costs using public (i.e. your) money.
My suggestion:
Is that DPC publish any evidence that supports their claim to be DRCCT sole trustees. The genuine and established DRCCT Trustees have already produced their evidence – in particular the Founding Deed, some DPC and Charity Commission letters and finally the LGA 1972(s193)3 that makes the position clear.
The challenge:
Whatever happened to honesty, openness and transparency? My view is that DPC is being selective when it comes to the evidence. Surely DPC should be following the ‘evidence disclosure’ rules rather than hiding documents and information. Surely excluding Councillors from Council Meetings is illegal. In the (unlikely) event that DPC is able to produce the documents that justify their claim and prove them to be the DRCCT sole trustees – I will consider the option of withdrawing my AGAR complaint – and thus avoiding further External Auditor investigation costs.
The Datchet Hall break-in on 12th October 2026.
Under the cover of darkness and when he should have been Chairing a Datchet Parish Council Meeting, Cllr David Buckley (Reform UK) instructed a locksmith to drill the Datchet Hall high security lock and install a new lock. This action is the subject of a Thames Valley Police Crime Report. Sentra Security Solutions on 24 hour duty then prevented access by some Councillors into the Hall.
Below: a bit of history published on 22-6-2026
Some members of Datchet Parish Council (including the Chair and the Clerk) remain confused about the ownership of some land and buildings in within the parish. Their names are listed on their April 2025 document here. This document correctly states as follows: The Sabatini Land is legally owned by the DRCCT, and whatever is on the land belongs to the charity, including the Village Hall complex.
In practice, these Councillors (and the Clerk) cannot simply hold a meeting at short notice in Windsor in April 2025 and decide to replace the existing DRCCT Trustees, claim ownership of the DRCCT assets and then gain access to the Village Hall to change the locks and demand the hall hire takings from the Caretaker.
DPC is now using public money to take legal action in support of their spurious and unfounded claim to the DRCCT land and buildings while the actual trustees (appointed in 2019) continue to look after the charity. Consequently I have prepared a complaint to the External Auditor about the accuracy of the information recorded in the DPC AGAR and the Asset Register. Hopefully this will clarify the situation.
You will find the DPC AGAR Notice of Public Rights here, Section 1 here, and Section 2 here
Section 3 (the External Auditors Report and Certificate) has still to be completed.
The DPC Asset Register dated 31 March 2026 is here and the details of my objection to the AGAR can be found on the document below:
COMPLAINT_ DPC_PKF_Littlejohn_19-6-2026
My complaint was emailed to the External Auditor (and others) on 19-6-2026 and receipt was confirmed.
The bottom line: Datchet Parish Council (as the Corporate Body) were never – are not now – and never will be the DRCCT Trustees. There is no mention of DPC in the founding deed and the Charity Commission rejected the DPC proposed changes in the 1970’s.
This is my email to the Clerk 26/10/2026
Dear Clerk
Thank you for the copy of the External Auditor’s response to my objections to the 2025/26 AGAR submission. I made my position clear at the Datchet Parish Council meeting i.e. the AGAR was incorrectly completed and I would be objecting if the AGER was submitted. The External Auditor investigation costs would appear to be about £2.5k per day. In the hope of making some progress – and saving Datchet precept payers money – I am prepared to consider withdrawing my objections to the AGAR. In return – and using the full disclosure process – I expect you to make available all the evidence that both supports and undermines your claim that DPC is ‘sole trustee of DRCCT’. This includes all leases/licences. Please note that I am still awaiting a copy of your Clerk’s report presented at the 14/4/2025 meeting in Windsor.
Ewan Larcombe (DRCCT Chair since 2019)
More to follow: