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Charity’s boss hits back
Hampstead Town Hall chief says there’s a conspiracy to oust him
HAMPSTEAD Town Hall chief Alan Tomkins has hit back at allegations of poor management at the troubled building – and accused critics of mounting a conspiracy to oust him.
Dr Tomkins, chief executive of Interchange, the educational charity which runs the former Town Hall, spoke out after a document revealing cracks between senior management was leaked to the New Journal.
In the document, which records a meeting between Dr Tomkins and three senior members of management in April, several accusations were outlined against the charity chief – including a failure to lead effectively, taking too long to make decisions and ignoring advice from senior members of his team.
Last week, the New Journal revealed that the Friends of Hampstead Town Hall, a former partner of Interchange in the multi-million refurbishment of the old Hampstead Town Hall ten years ago, had fallen out with management and were now refusing to use the building. But Dr Tomkins, who has headed the Interchange Trust for the last 20 years, hit back at his critics, saying the charity had come through “an absolutely horrendous year” and was now working hard to move forward.
He said: “Am I a control freak? I am trained to be. I am not going to apologise for that. I have a budget of £2.2 million to control.
“The bullying claim was insubstantiated. Someone raised their voice and I raised mine back. That has been sorted and I apologised to the person in writing. I was accused of being economical with the truth. That is sometimes not a matter of lying – it is about dealing with confidential documents.”
While Dr Tomkins admitted “some problems” with his “management style” he said the charity’s trustees had now appointed a paid consultant to work with the management team to address any issues.
He added: “Leaking this to the press does not help. It is a vicious gutter smear to damage the charity. Some of this has been going on for six months and there has been a conspiracy.” |
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