OSCR demands board holds an extraordinary general meeting

Bitter infighting and a bid to oust a founding trustee has brought a popular disability charity to the brink - sparking a probe by the regulator.

Free Wheel North runs a cycling centre at Glasgow Green and runs activities for hundreds of children and families.

However its founder Martin Armstrong says it has been subjected to “malicious communications, abuse and vandalism” at the hands of a group of people “keen to harm the charity”.

Those people are thought to be fellow board members.

A tirade of abuse and trolling has been posted on social media as well as the charity's web pages.

The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) has ordered the organisation to officially create a new board after disagreements between trustees were seen as being irrevocable.

Armstrong set up the charity in 2008 but says he has now been physically “locked out” of the hubs he created when the dispute escalated earlier this year.

Armstrong explained: “Since 2008, Free Wheel North has grown into Scotland’s most successful inclusive cycling charity, bringing health, joy and social change to tens of thousands across Glasgow and beyond.

“But our mission goes far beyond cycling. At the Whitehouse project in Maryhill, we foster social justice through a bike shop, community dinners, art, anti-racism events, and grassroots networking, giving the community a vital voice.

“Our Cycling Centre is a proven model for social change. We have piloted similar projects across Scotland with success, even amid hostility."

However on 14 July this year, everything changed, he said. “I, the founder, alongside staff and volunteers, were locked out of the centre. A governance dispute, fuelled by a faction opposing our vision, led to operations being shut down and our community being excluded.

"The ongoing conflict has resulted in intimidation, manipulation of membership, and aggressive sabotage of efforts to hold a fair AGM, mandated by OSCR, to restore the charity’s direction.

“Just days after being locked out of the Cycling Centre, we were forcibly removed from the Whitehouse, our locks broken and replaced, told to leave and never return. I was personally told to ‘f**k off’ and that I had no role in the charity I founded.

“Despite this, we have fought back and regained control of the Whitehouse. However, the damage is severe: income has been decimated, aspirations curtailed, and countless people victimised. This chaos comes at a terrible cost - not only to us but to Glasgow, a city battling drug addiction, obesity, mental health crises and inactivity.”

OSCR launched a probe into Free Wheel North in 2022, following concerns received about governance and made a string of recommendations to improve it.

In July last year, new concerns were raised and the watchdog opened a new probe. OSCR said there was a dispute about the validity of a trustee and took steps to help the charity ensure their proper election.

A report said: “Due to the severe breakdown in the relationship between the charity trustees, this has failed to happen.”

Earlier this year a trustee’s appointment was terminated and further appointments took place but the watchdog found there was “uncertainty and an ongoing dispute over the competency of the procedure carried out and the validity of decisions made”.

It said: “As such there is a lack of clarity as to who is now a validly appointed charity trustee.” The watchdog directed the charity to hold an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on Thursday so that a new board can be properly elected.

There are currently eight directors detailed at Companies House.

But OSCR has recommended that individuals who have not received a formal notice of the EGM should not attend.

It said: “This is to minimise the risk of further dispute and to support the charity in complying fully with the terms of OSCR’s direction.”

Anderson said the EGM, which will be facilitated by lawyers, offers “hope for a new board and a fresh start.” 

He said: “Together, we can restore Free Wheel North’s mission - to make Scotland a healthier, more inclusive, and joyful place through the power of cycling and social justice.

“At the Whitehouse, we will continue fighting - not just for Free Wheel North’s future, but for stronger protections against online mob hate and to defend community projects that improve lives.”