A landmark court case examining whether Norfolk County Council unfairly awarded Lynn’s library to a charity got under way today.

The council’s decision-making process on the new occupant of the Carnegie library is being scrutinised at London’s High Court.

Earlier this year, The Garage Trust emerged victorious from an application process to determine who would take on the building.

The Margery Kempe Trust, a fellow applicant which lost out, subsequently lodged a formal complaint – claiming that a “long-standing, preferential relationship” between the council and The Garage Trust contributed to its selection.

The Margery Kempe Trust is challenging the integrity and fairness of the process – with a High Court hearing starting today to determine whether a judicial review is needed.

A decision on whether a judicial review is needed will likely be made within the next week.

Antonia Hayes, one of the founding members of the newly set-up charity, addressed Judge HHJ Walden-Smith, calling for the review to take place.

Ms Hayes described the application process as “tainted” and “unfair”, while accusing the county council of having a “long-standing, preferential relationship” with the Garage Trust, which runs performing arts workshops for young people.

Defendant counsel Sam Fowles, who is representing the council, described the complaint as a “house of cards” and argued that the evidence for it is based on “speculation”.

“We have a losing bidder complaining about why they lost,” he told the court.

He said the council’s decision for The Garage Trust to take on the Carnegie was “not tainted by bias”.

The choice was recommended by a panel of county councillors, who then put it to Cllr Jane James, who made the overall decision.

The Margery Kempe Trust has raised concerns about county councillor Simon Ring, who was on the panel, being part of the King’s Lynn Town Deal Board.

This is because The Garage Trust’s CEO, Adam Taylor, is also on the board.

However, Mr Fowles said: “Simon Ring does not share any interests with Adam Taylor, apart from wanting the Town Deal Board from wanting to do well.”

“They have only met three times.”

Ms Hayes has alleged that The Garage Trust made a previous application to take on the library building in 2022 and subsequently received feedback from councillors.

The core of The Margery Kempe Trust’s complaint is based on supposed “evidence” indicating that The Garage Trust secured a £10,000 grant from the council specifically for the Carnegie, two months before the application process opened.

Ms Hayes argued that this gave The Garage Trust an extra benefit when making an application, and claimed that the council offered to provide support for the trust to gain funding from the Architectural Heritage Fund.

However, Mr Fowles insisted that this was not the case.

“There is no evidence to say we did that,” he said.

He added that The Margery Kempe Trust’s evidence is based on speculation.

“It is a fairly absurd speculation,” he said.

The Margery Kempe Trust also alleges that multiple members of the final interview panel were consulted on the successful bidder’s submitted architectural plans nearly two years before the application process opened.

Ms Hayes suggested that The Garage Trust was given access to structural plans of the Carnegie before applications opened.

But Mr Fowles said it was looking for another venue before this and was simply exploring its options.

“Putting together plans takes a lot of time and money,” he said.

“Had they waited until July 24, they would not have had time. Any competent community bodies have to anticipate these things.”

The library services currently housed at the Carnegie will be moved into the new multi-use community hub in the town centre later this year.

The Carnegie was in high demand, and The Margery Kempe Trust was one of numerous applicants.

It is a group set up by three Lynn residents – Antonia Hayes, James Goodman-Stephens and James Wadham – to share and document residents’ stories.

They wanted to use the Carnegie as their future base to run their project, which included conducting writing workshops.

At the end of the decision-making process, the council decided that The Garage Trust was the best bidder.

The case continues…