The ACV period for Udney Park ends in mid-August. Dialogue with Savills (the agent employed by AHH/ Quantum to sell the land) has continued and been both professional and cordial throughout. The ACV does not compel Quantum to sell to the Community Bid, or indeed to sell at all, and in line with this Savill’s have issued a sales brochure to other potential bidders. This is something that they notified the Community Bid that they would be doing so comes as no surprise.
The reaction of residents to this can be found on the following link: Teddington groups react to new brochure advertising Udney Park playing fields to developers
The local MP, Munira Wilson has also responded to the attempt to sell to a speculative developer: Teddington MP reacts to Udney Park playing fields being advertised for sale
Behind all this furore serious conversations continue and once Savill’s have market feedback, the intention is to hopefully find a price that is both palatable to AHH/ Quantum and their investors, but at the same time is reasonable and affordable from the perspective of the Community Bid. The best guess is that meaningful engagement between the Community Bid and Savills should be able to take place in mid-July.
In the meantime, a Masterplan has been developed for the sporting use of Udney Park so that if a sale is agreed upon, we are ready to go ahead as quickly as possible. Already some highly motivated and energetic volunteers have stepped forward to help manage the Operating Company, and there is a real enthusiasm among the local sports clubs that maybe this may all become a reality. This will be at the perfect time as we come out of the pandemic and there is a real focus on both physical and mental health.
There have also been some exciting conversations with local charities about how the Udney Park Community Trust could contribute beyond simply sport. A refurbished pavilion that retains its historical heritage can hopefully provide the space to put some of these ideas into practice.
Updates will continue to be posted via this news section.
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
