Who owns it

[Huderon]

A friend of mine is on the committee for a social club. The club is on land which was originally (I am told) left to the community (the owner died in the 50's/60's), and the building it is in was once a community centre.

Members of the club believe the club belongs to them, and thought that the money they were paying to the council was ground rent. It now seems that it is actual rent they have been paying for some 20/25 years. The local council say the building and land belong to the council.

The question is, who actually owns the land and building ? Would land left to the community become council land (as representatives of the community) or would it be owned in some other way by members of the community ?

[Paul21455]

Ask the council for the documentary proof that the land is theirs. Check with the Land Registry, and seek out the deeds of the property. You are probably going to need the services of a solicitor.

[buildersmate]

There are anomalies in what has been going on all these years, because the payment of a 'ground rent' (your term) typically relates to an admission / acceptance that the land is owned by the body to whom the rent is paid to. If the situation is as you say, the council would only expect to be in receipt of money for council tax (if the building was rated for CT).
Paul's answer does tell you how to find out cheaply who the registered proprietor of the land is - if the land is registered with the LR.
If there is no separate lease arrangement for the building (and the LR records do also show up long-term lease contracts) then I'm afraid the building that sits on the land is going to owned by whoever owns the land.
There is no reason for the council to assume ownership of this land - as representives of the community or otherwise - land ownership doesn't 'default' to the council ownership and council-owned land will show up as such at the LR in the same way as anyone else's land would show up. If it is registered land.
The community is likely to have to spend money on a solicitor to unpick this little lot. If it is a community resource, does it really matter? - I guess I am saying, is it worth rocking the boat for, if the community is getting what it wants.

[Huderon]

Thank you both for your answers. I will pass them on to my friend and check the LR entry for the building myself.

As far as I understand the situation, the council wants an acknowledgement that they own the land and building, but the club members don't want to do so. So far the council haven't produced documentary evidence of ownership. And as head of the club's committee, my friend is caught in the middle of this while trying to get the finances and everything else to do with the club back on an even keel.