A WAR of words and action around a borough village hall continues despite a move by Thurrock Council to take back the keys of its doors from trustees.

At the centre of conflict is Belmont Village Hall in Grays, which is currently run by a committee and trustees who include a director of the hall's principal user, 2 Little Birds pre-school and nursery, which opened up in March 2019 at the Seventh Day Adventist Church on Chestnut Avenue, but relocated to Belmont Hall in 2022.

Belmont Hall is also used by other small local community groups, hired out to private users and is the registered HQ of the Thameside Sea Scout Group.

However, clashes between the trustees and the scouts over access to the venue resulted in the scouts being given notice of eviction by the trustees in December last year.

That followed a public clash outside the building, on Parker Road, on Saturday, 16 November when a senior member of the scouts group was heard to say of one of the members of staff at 2 Little Birds, 'She should get a slap'.

The scouts have acknowledged that was an inappropriate comment and have run their own investigation into what happened, but it proved to be the straw that broke the trustees' back and they issued the eviction notice.

The scouts refused to accept the eviction as legal and took the issue to Thurrock Council.

Belmont Village Hall

Having reviewed the matter, the council has now asked the trustees to surrender the keys to the building – and announced it will be looking for a solution to how the venue is run going forwards.

A statement from the council says it took the action following 'months of attempts to negotiate with the trustees and arrange mediation' which the trustees failed to engage in.

Cllr Valerie Morris-Cook, cabinet member for communities, said: "In many parts of Thurrock, village halls are at the heart of the community, providing a safe and welcoming space for local groups to meet, get active, and enjoy each other's company.

"They are for the benefit of everyone, and I want all local groups to know they are there for them. The behaviour of these Trustees, which has seen some groups not able to access the building goes against the very spirit of a village hall.

"I want to send a strong message to anyone trying to use public resources for their own benefit, at the expense of others, that this will not be tolerated.

"I also know that that this action against the trustees may raise local concerns from families who access the services, which operate from the community hall. I want to assure them that the services will continue to operate as normal while we talk to groups accessing the building following the departure of the trustees."

However, Cllr Morris-Cook and the council have come in for a barrage of criticism from a local community champion, Brian Taylor, whose personal association with the hall goes back to its build more than 30 years ago – before Thurrock Borough Council was created as a unitary authority.

Belmont Residents Association played an active part in the local community for decades and initiated the building of the hall.

Mr Taylor, 84, who was awarded an MBE for his services to the local community in the 1997 Queens Birthday Honours, says he is 'disgusted;' by the actions of Thurrock Council, which he says has 'never put a penny into the hall' and it is only in the condition it is now because of the work by the Belmont Estate Residents Association, which he chaired for many years after its formation in 1978 – and in recent years by the trustees and the team at Two Little Birds.

He told Thurrock Nub News: "The Association took charge of the former play centre which was within the grounds of what is now Belmont Castle Academy, may years ago because the school couldn't manage it.

"That grew and became a community facility, but it was not sufficient to meet the community's needs so we lobbied Essex County Council who built the village hall and we ran it and did so for many years serving everyone in the local community successfully.

"As things happen over the years, the management of the association fell into fewer hands as we all aged and it was decided to form a charity, with trustees and a committee, to take over its running."

The charity's details can be found on the Charity Commission website. Belmont Village Hall was registered as a charity in January 2024. Its three original trustees, appointed at a community meeting on 18 December 2023, are Paula Engwell, Tracy Rowe (who is a director and co-owner of 2 Little Birds) and Steven Howe. They were joined in February this year by Robert Farrow.

Mr Taylor continued by saying he had full confidence in the trustees, saying: "In my view they have done a fantastic job, they have redecorated the place and run it very well, serving everybody's needs but it seems the sea scouts wanted more and that's when the trouble began, but I have absolute faith in the trustees, and I think it's wrong what Thurrock Council has done.

"It's such a lovely community facility and the council's decision is disgusting. I know Val Morris-Cook quite well, and ward councillor Martin Kerin and I am very disappointed in what they and the Labour group have done."

Belmont Village Hall was one the many buildings the previous Conservative administration wanted to sell or dispose of in its community transfer scheme, proposed in 2022.

In a letter to the hall trustees Thameside Sea Scout Group said its Trustee Board did not accept the decision.

The scouts said: "We have sought advice and guidance from Thurrock Council as to the overall operational aspects of the hall.

"Following consultation we also believe it 'may not' be within the powers vested in the hall trustee board to have the final decision on such matters.

"We also believe that advice was issued to you by the Council that you should not move forward with this action. We agree with their decision and therefore until any or all appeals and final decisions are made as to the legitimacy in relation to the hire termination and overall operational aspects of the hall, we do not accept the current notice.

"The council was informed by the hall trustee board representative that the issue was 'resolved' following meetings in relation to the investigation by the District Lead Volunteer and Chair who had said that they would relocate the Group.

"Unfortunately, they had no authority to make such a statement on behalf of the group trustee board, if indeed they did.

"Thameside Sea Scout Group is a registered charity in its own right with its own trustee board. This is the only body that can make decisions on behalf of the group and we have not even considered such an outcome.

"We have met in the Hall for nearly 30 years without significant issue.

"The issues that we have raised in recent times and which may have led to the 'strained relationship' referred to in recent meetings, have purely been with regard to health and safety together with safeguarding concerns of not only our young people and volunteers but all users.

Thameside Sea Scouts refusal to be evicted sparked Thurrock Council action.

"As such and in the interests of continuity to the young people, we intend to continue to meet at the hall, at our normal meeting times following the break for half term.

"We also remain ready to meet in a co-operative manner to find a satisfactory way forward for all parties.

"We also wish to confirm that we have no issue with the business of the nursery in the hall, in fact we have mutual appreciation for any educational setting that provides opportunities for young people in general which has the same ethos as scouting.

"However, both we and the council strongly feel there must be a fair operational method in place for the benefit of all hall users.

"It is the specifically the current operational aspects by the hall trustees and committee, as well as the legality of the termination of hire notification that we are seeking to address to the mutual benefit of all parties in the spirit of beneficial co-operation of all hall users going forwards."