THE management of the Commemoration Hall in Huntingdon is set to return to Huntingdon Town Council after a resolution passed by the council on Thursday. Councillors say they are concerned that people who are not elected or accountable are in charge of tax

THE management of the Commemoration Hall in Huntingdon is set to return to Huntingdon Town Council after a resolution passed by the council on Thursday.

Councillors say they are concerned that people who are not elected or accountable are in charge of taxpayers' money. The council has agreed to begin talks with the hall's board of trustees and the Charity Commission to return control of the Commemoration Hall's management back to the town council.

The Huntingdon Commemoration Hall Charity was established in 1947 by a Trust Deed. Its stated objects are to provide, maintain and operate the Huntingdon Commemoration Hall 'for the benefit of the inhabitants of Huntingdon, to provide for them and particularly for those of them who are persons of small means, facilities for their recreation and welfare'.

Originally, the board consisted of 15 trustees but in 1959 only three of these remained and the then mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the Borough of Huntingdon were appointed as administrators.

Huntingdon Town Council became a successor trustee after the Local Government Act of 1972.

In August 2006, the council obtained permission from the Charity Commission to dissolve its role as sole trustee in a move intended primarily to increase the charity's independence from the council. As a result, the council was able to appoint 12 people to act as charity trustees, six elected councillors and six representatives of groups who use the hall.

The town council has continued to fund and administer the hall.