Ninth Dartington departure ushers in a new period of risk

The exodus of trustees from the board of the charity running the Dartington estate has continued, with the latest departure bizarrely announced by another trustee who had already stated her wish to resign.

 The news brings the number of trustees at Dartington Hall Trust to a level well below the number required by its legal structure.  It brings a big risk that decisions taken by the organisation when operating on such a basis could be contested by outsiders on the grounds that it is acting unlawfully.

In an email message at the weekend (1st June) Rachel Watson broke the news that Peter Goldsbrough had resigned several weeks ago, even though this has yet to be disclosed by the charity. Watson’s own resignation was announced by the charity in a statement on 23rd May, shortly after she had informed the trust of her desire to stand down after five years in the post.  The exits of Goldsborough and Watson bring to nine the departures from the ranks of trustees since Lord David Triesman took over as chair just over two years ago.  Because Watson has formally sent her notice of withdrawal, she is according to the organisation’s articles of association no longer a trustee.

With Goldsbrough’s departure, the move brings the number of board members to just two, which is three below the minimum stipulated in the articles setting out the legal guidelines for how Dartington operates.  The growing list of people quitting is a serious matter for the 93-year-old trust which has been through a period of upheaval since Triesman announced shortly after taking over that it was in a parlous financial state and was close to bankruptcy.

Unless the number of trustees rises quickly to the minimum required level, it is possible that the powers of the charity to take key decisions, for instance over investments or disposals or raising money, might be severely constrained. If the number of trustees stays at no more than two , the trust would be unable even to carry out board meetings, as the articles state that three or more board members are needed for such gatherings to happen.

Dartington has said it is keeping the Charity Commission, the government regulator, informed  about the developments, and that “as a matter of priority, we are actively engaged in finding additional, appropriately qualified trustees”.

Among the potential new recruits being sounded out is a prominent councillor in the Totnes and Dartington area who has expressed enthusiasm about getting involved, even though no appointment has been confirmed. The commission opened a regulatory compliance case against the trust last December  to investigate potential  concerns about governance, and this has yet to announce any conclusion.

The trust has now responded to a request to comment on Goldsborough’s resignation (read the response here), which has been confirmed by two people knowledgeable about changes at Dartington. Goldsborough has failed to respond to a similar request.  As a result of the resignation of Goldsbrough – who is a former management consultant who joined the trust in 2020 – the current total roll call of trustees comprises Triesman and David Lovett who joined only in April.

The latest departures mean Triesman will have lost – either by accident or design – all the board members he inherited and who started at Dartington before he took over his role. The one-time trade unionist and Labour politician – who has forged a new career as a banker – has cut a contentious figure since arriving at the charity.

While Triesman has taken some unpopular decisions, such as closing Schumacher College, a key academic centre on the estate for agriculture and environmental topics, he has won plaudits in some quarters for taking a tighter grip on the charity’s spending in an effort to halt its long sequence of hefty financial losses. The charity now says it is on course for a recovery.

However news of the list of resignations – with the strong implication that many of those leaving have been unhappy with Triesman’s way of running the organisation – carries a danger that the charity faces a further period of intense difficulty and reputational damage.  The changes come at an unfortunate time for the charity which is this year celebrating the centenary of the foundation in 1925 of Dartington in its modern guise as a centre for arts, education and industry by Dorothy and Leonard Elmhirst. The wealthy US-based benefactors started the trust seven years later to run Dartington. It became a charity some time afterwards.

 

[Article updated to reference Dartingtons later response 13:00 5th June 2025]