1972 – Present Day
In 1972 as part of Local Government reorganisation the four Borough and District Councils in Swale merged to form Swale District Council, now Swale Borough Council (SBC). As part of this process responsibility for the QFT transferred from the Mayor and Burgesses of the Borough of Queenborough to SBC and was managed for the next 43 years as an SBC Committee. Each year at the annual Mayor making ceremony the Council would appoint ten Borough Councillors to sit on Queenborough Fishery Trust. SBC acted as a Corporate Trustee and managed the Trust’s governance, legal, land and financial matters.
During this period the following changes occurred:
In 1977 £7,000 was received from Tudor Glass for the sale of the Tidal Pond to enable them to extend their car parking.
In 1989 the Charity Commission required the Trust to update its scheme. The Charity Commission drafted a new Scheme in consultation with the Borough Solicitor which was submitted to Full Council for approval. The new Scheme, approved on 26 February 1991, provided for the income from QFT property to be applied for charitable purposes across the Borough of Swale and no longer solely for the inhabitants of Queenborough.
Throughout this time the QFT became closely aligned with another local charity: Swale Recreation Trust. The two charities shared the same Trustees and would refer grant applications between them.
In 2015 the Trust separated from Swale Borough Council and established independent governance and financial arrangements. The Trust merged with Swale Recreation Trust with Charity Commission approval and converted to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation on 29 April 2019.
The Trust actively works with a local Land Agent to manage the Trust’s land and assets and to secure the long-term future of the Trust. Any current or recently expired lease arrangements have not been included in this section for commercial confidentiality.
Over 200 years on the Trust continues to support local organisations across its area of benefit. In 2020 Trustees awarded over £67,000 in grant funding for a wide range of charitable causes.