The sale of a school on gifted land did not end an educational charitable trust
The supreme court has ruled in favour of Oxfordshire County Council in a dispute over land gifted as a site for a school in the early 1900s. The school moved in 2006, with the land subsequently sold for over £1m to fund the new premises. The benefactor’s heirs claimed the land should have reverted to them after the school moved; however, the supreme court disagreed.
Nettlebed School was built on land gifted by Robert Fleming under the School Sites Act 1841 (the Act). In the 1990s, the council decided to relocate to improved facilities and sell the land after the move to fund the new premises. Pupils moved in February 2006 and most of the land was sold to a developer for £1,243,819.50.
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