Charity explains why Dunfermline church plans fell through

The Yes U Are Partnership thought they'd done everything by the book when they bought the dilapidated St Andrew's Erskine Church in 2012 from the Alfred Stewart Property Foundation (ASPF), which was named after the late developer.

But the deal became mired in legal complexities for years, following a fraud probe and claims of misconduct by trustees at the charity which benefited from his wealth, and ended up with the partnership having to give up the building in October last year.

The Yes U Are Partnership said a mistake with the deeds led to a legal dispute over the former St Andrew's Erskine Church in Dunfermline. (Image: Contributed)

It's now due to be sold at auction next month with a guide price of £230,000.

John MacDonald, from the partnership, said: "It was a very big project but we could have done it, definitely, if it wasn't for the legal problems.

"The positive outcomes made it well worth it, not least the building is still standing and in good enough shape to be taken over and developed into a commercially viable building.

"If we hadn't bought it, I think they would have just left it to fall down.

"We very much hope that whoever gets it uses it for the community, for the public good, but we have no control over that."

With the help of a MacDonald family legacy, the Dunfermline-based Christian charity bought the building for £600,000 in 2012.

The ASPF also gave the partnership a "six figure sum" to help them repair and refurbish the category B-listed building, parts of which date back to 1798, into a multi-purpose community hub and cafe.

The inside of the Erskine Building is still recognisable as a former church. (Image: Contributed)

The idea was it would be used for everything from art exhibitions and conferences through to weddings and concerts, and the hope that local groups, charities and organisations would be able to use it too.

In 2013 they told the Press the project would cost up to £3m, plans were put in place to apply for lottery funding with the hope it would be completed and ready to open in 2016.

However the legal issues surrounding the property deal, including problems with an access lease, proved insurmountable.

Mr MacDonald said: "For a few years it went very well but we had the legal situation hanging around our necks so we couldn't get the big funding we needed for the church.

"Then Covid hit and it became clear the legal issue was hampering us so much that we had to settle in a way that wasn't advantageous and involved us giving up the building to ASPF, who are essentially administered by Aver.

"It related to a mistake with the deeds and the legal costs kept building up."

Alf Stewart died in 2008. The property foundation named after him is selling the former church in Dunfermline and reviving plans for housing between Crossford and Cairneyhill. (Image: Newsquest)

Mr Stewart died in April 2008 but the decisions he made just before his passing are still having an impact today - the ASPF are also currently trying to revive plans for a major housing development between Crossford and Cairneyhill.

He left most of his £7m estate to the Alfred Stewart Trust, a charity he asked to be set up to fund or support medical research and other charitable activities.

Four of his children lost a legal bid in 2013 to have the will overturned - it had been changed shortly before his death - and, not long after, it emerged that the trust was under investigation by the Scottish charity regulator.

The OSCR, said there were "concerns about the financial management of the charity and its subsidiary companies" and an interim report added that it "appeared that the trustees were not acting in the interests of the charity".

Two trustees, Roano Pierotti and Gifford Bruce, were suspended by the OSCR and later resigned in July 2015.

It also transpired that the Law Society of Scotland had launched an investigation into another of the trustees, Clive Franks, the lawyer who had helped Mr Stewart re-draft his will, over claims of missing client money.

He died at his home in November 2014.

The law society sought a judicial factor to "protect the assets" of Mr Stewart's estate and the OSCR, "concerned that there is misconduct in the administration of the charity", were successful in having an interim judicial factor appointed to look after the trust and its subsidiaries.

The latter, from Aver Chartered Accountants, became a permanent appointment in February 2015.

From the partnership's point of view, Mr MacDonald said they went from having an "amicable" relationship with the trustees of the ASPF to one that was "more difficult".

He explained: "Unfortunately when the new organisation took over the previous ones left no record of our communication and this led to a legal dispute we got caught up in.

"It just grew arms and legs from there and started to get extremely expensive.

"They had international and commercial lawyers involved who were not the easiest people to deal with."

The Press contacted Aver for comment but did not receive a response.