Many charities hold land, either as a necessary part of their day-to-day functions (such as cathedrals and universities) or to further their objects of conservation and environmental protection (such as the National Trust) – and often both. We represent almost 100 charities with significant property portfolios, including charitable housing trusts, Oxford and Cambridge colleges, Anglican cathedrals and major public schools.
Our principal function is to monitor legislative and policy proposals from Government that are likely to have an impact on our members – not simply in areas such as agriculture and environmental protection, but also on issues such as housing, land, planning and development, taxation, and employment and charity law.
Our regular meetings – a majority held online – give members the opportunity to exchange news and information and to share expertise. We also try to keep our members informed of developments in relevant policy areas through our website – which is updated in real time – weekly e-mails and a monthly newsletter.
Perhaps most importantly, we respond where appropriate to consultation papers on behalf of our membership and make representations to government on policy developments that are likely to affect them.
What do we do?
Our history
The Charities’ Property Association was established in the late 1970s as the Association of Landowning Charities. Its purpose was to bring together charities that own land and properties either as their main charitable purpose (such as charitable estates and providers of social housing) or as a necessary part of pursuing their main charitable purpose (such as universities and colleges). The first Secretary of the Association was Harry Kidd, previously Bursar and Fellow of St John’s College, Oxford, and when he decided to retire in 1990, Helen Donoghue was recruited to succeed him.
The Association of Landowning Charities subsequently became the Charities’ Property Association as it was felt that this name better reflected the portfolios of the members.