Charity bank accounts frozen amid investigation

An investigation has been launched into a charity set up to help communities, improve health and tackle poverty.

Dovecot and Princess Drive Community Association is under investigation and its bank accounts have been frozen, amid a statutory inquiry after overdue accounts and "financial and governance" concerns from the regulator.

Initial investigations have been unable to identify acting charity trustees. According the 2024 accounts, the organisation's chair is named as Colette Goulding, Labour councillor for West Derby Muirhead.

Attempts to contact the charity have been unsuccessful, and its registered telephone number is out of service, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) reports.

The Charity Commission inquiry comes almost 30 years after the charity - previously known as the Drive - was first registered.

The charity - once based on Finch Lane - was set up in 1997 to benefit the community by bringing together statutory authorities, voluntary organisations and residents in a common effort to, among other things, advance education, protect health and relieve poverty.

According to a statement signed by Goulding in January last year, trustees were responsible for the management and administration of the charity's property and funds in accordance with the 1997 trust deed.

This includes "keeping proper accounting records".

The Charity Commission is now appealing to the local community to come forward with any information they may have about who is running the charity.

The inquiry will then examine the administration, governance and management of the charity, particularly whether the charity has a sufficient number of trustees who are willing and capable of managing it in accordance with its governing document.

Officials will also assess whether any misconduct or mismanagement led to financial losses for the charity, as well as conflicts of interest and connected party transactions.

Following the Commission's policy, a report detailing the issues examined, any action taken, and any outcomes will be published after the inquiry has concluded.

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