THE Friends of the Victoria Hall welcome a court decision this week which ruled against the Charity Commission over its support for Ealing Council’s attempts to sell off the Victoria Hall.

The hall belongs to a charity the Commission controls.

The decision follows a three-day hearing this year when two Ealing residents, on behalf of FoVH, challenged the Commission over new rules it had agreed to for the 1893 Victoria Hall Trust that would allow the council to dispose of the property.

In a 12-page judgment published this week, the tribunal ruled it was not satisfied the proposed rule changes adequately protect the interests of the charity.

It gave the Commission and Ealing Council six months to draw up a new scheme in consultation with the two appellants.

Will French, one of the appellants, said: “The tribunal has correctly concluded that the scheme would be a very poor outcome for the beneficiaries of the trust, the Ealing public.”

The other appellant, Tony Miller, added: “I am delighted that we’ve been proved right about this completely unsatisfactory plan for the Victoria Hall.

“I look forward to working with the Commission and with Ealing Council to come up with a much better outcome for the people of Ealing.”