Community360: Four trustees leave Colchester charity

Charity Commission records show the board of trustees of Community360, a charity based in Colchester, has slimmed down.

Chairman of the board, Annie Feltham, is currently working alongside fellow trustees Anthea Hockly, Stewart Thomson, David Evans, and Les Davis, the regulator’s current records show.

The latest records of trustees on the charity’s website show nine trustees, revealing Christina Huddleston, Les Nicoll, Simon King, and Katherine Pearson have left the organisation.

Community360 came under fire after it was revealed it made a £206,341 loan to its chief executive, Tracy Rudling, in the 2022-23 financial year.

Scrutiny - Community360 made a £206,341 loan to its chief executive, Tracy Rudling, in the 2022-23 financial year (Image: Public)

The charity said the money was used to build long-term storage facilities for the charity on Mrs Rudling’s land, with the organisation being the ultimate beneficiary of the loan and not its boss.

Colchester Council wrote to the Charity Commission last month to clarify “financial concerns” raised about Community360.

It came after a joint letter from several public bodies which provide funding to Community360, including the city council, was sent to the charity in February.

The charity, which works with partners to support education and health services, also receives funding from Essex County Council, the Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board, and Braintree Council.

Council bosses previously confirmed a response to the letter had been received which confirmed no funding provided by any of these organisations was used to fund the loan.

Colchester Council leader David King and Community360 chief executive Tracy Rudling (Image: Colchester Council)

Community360 also assured council bosses any payments made to Godden and Rudling Building Services, Mrs Rudling’s husband’s building company, followed proper procurement procedures.

Mr Rudling and his company received a total of £257,263 from the charity between April 2018 and March 2023.

Documents show £118,251 of that total was used to rent office space on the Rudlings’ land while £139,012 was paid to the building company for various works.

Mr Rudling previously told the Gazette he had saved the charity “loads of money over the years” by avoiding it being “ripped off”.

What does Community360 say?

A spokesman for the charity said: “As an organisation, we are committed to continuing to deliver vital services in the communities that we serve for many years to come, and we are working hard to ensure a bright future for our charity and all the people we support.  

“As part of this work, we are currently recruiting for new Trustees.

"We would like to thank all of our current and former Trustees for their dedicated work in ensuring our support reaches as many vulnerable people as possible, and as we look to the future, we look forward to working with new colleagues to further our mission of fostering resilient and thriving environments in our local communities.

“If you are interested in being a Trustee, please contact information@community360.org.uk”