A meeting is being scheduled between council officers and councillors with the new owners of Udney Park. The foundation had asked to be represented at this meeting to provide transparency but Council leader Gareth Roberts has indicated that he prefers this initial meeting to be to the exclusion of community groups.
The Foundation has therefore requested that the following items (in italics) should be explained to Mr Wu’s representatives at this meeting so that there can be no ambiguity about the future development of the site, beyond being as community playing fields.
1. LBRUT need to clearly state that any future Pre-App process will be subject to public scrutiny under FOI so that councillors and interested parties have transparency on any proposals – the recent Pre-App for UP was not open to any such scrutiny as the planning officers gave the applicant a commitment to confidentiality. This should not happen again.
2. LBRUT should reinforce that planning guidance is as the attached letter from Paul Chadwick dated 21st July 2021, which was distributed by Savills to all potential buyers during their sales campaign
3. LBRUT should make it clear that planning restrictions have radically increased since the purchase of the land by Quantum in 2014. These are summarised in the attached link https://www.udneypark.co.uk/news/latest-update/ Quantum spent £3.5m on an abortive planning application and got nowhere and Mr Wu needs to be aware that any future plan to overturn any of the hard-won protections for Udney park will be rigorously resisted
4. The fields are an Asset of Community Value and with this designation comes a responsibility upon the land owner (Mr Wu). The pavilion and fields need to be properly restored and then maintained for the use by the community. The fields have not been managed properly by the previous owners. In particular –
o The playing fields have been allowed to deteriorate with no maintenance.
o The cricket square has not been maintained since 2015 and is now in such a condition that a recent English Cricket Board report concluded that it would need to be dug up and reconstructed.
o One of the three tennis courts is now unsafe to use due to tree roots lifting the playing surface and the other two courts will fall out of use within a couple of years if not resurfaced.
o The war memorial pavilion has been subject to extensive vandalism, and water ingress now threatens the structure of the 1922 building which is protected by Building of Townscape Merit local heritage status and recognised as a War Memorial. Thus, there are now no changing and shower facilities available at Udney Park even were the playing pitches brought back in to use.
The minimum requirements of responsible management of the playing fields going forward should include –
o The access to the playing fields and Pavilion should be restored for community sport, and at reasonable rates reflective of those chargeable for community sport within the Borough.
o The fields should be marked out, with posts, pads and nets provided.
o There should be a proper maintenance regime put in place.
o The cricket square should be reconstructed and maintained from mid-April to end September
o The pitch layout should broadly be as the proposal from the Udney Park Community Fields Foundation as shown on their draft business plan (ref website https://www.udneypark.co.uk/the-plan), or else as is agreed with the community clubs to suit current needs.
o A plan should be put in place to restore the tennis courts - commencing with remedial work to the third court where the surface has lifted.
o Reinstatement of the external fabric of the pavilion making the building weather resistant again, and the changing rooms and showers should be brought back in to use and properly managed
Mr Wu needs to clearly state whether his plans for the site incorporate the above, and if so what is the projected timetable for this work?
5. LBRUT should point out that the Localism Act provides for a CPO in the event that an ACV is mismanaged, and that whilst the council do not seek to go down this route, it is an option they will be prepared to consider rather than allow the fields and the pavilion to further deteriorate.
Remembrance Day marks the centenary of the opening of Udney Park as playing fields in memory of the fallen of the former pupils of Merchant Taylors School in WW1. No better time to take strong action to bring the fields back in to community use.
Once there is feedback from council officers and/ or councillors it will be posted on the website.
Political momentum for a CPO growing
The Udney Park Trust have released a ‘press release’ updating everyone on the momentum gathering for a CPO of the fields at Udney Park. Local hustings were held as a prelude to this week’s general election and the Trust raised a question regarding the future of the site. It was confirmed at the hustings that there was universal support for a CPO from all parties.
The tragedy of the War Memorial Pavilion has been revealed by arial photos taken by residents. These reveal that under the ownership of Mr Wu the building has fallen into such disrepair as to render future renovation work hugely expensive. The project had been to bring the changing rooms back into early use for the community clubs playing on these fields. There were relatively new boilers and heating systems installed just before Imperial College sold the site. The building interior had been dry – even if the changing rooms needed to be brought up to modern standards.
It is hugely disappointing to report that Udney park is now under offer from another group of investors headed up by local resident, Keith Williams.
Udney Park is an Asset of Community Value, defined in the Localism Act (2011) as "Land is an asset of community value if its main use is to further the social wellbeing or social interests of the local community." The Localism Act states that ‘social interests’ include cultural, recreational and sporting interests
