Udney park community playing fields have been sold to an off shore investor registered in the British Virgin Islands.
The Localism Act and the protection to Udney Park that was supposed to be imposed via ACV status has been trampled over by previous owners - AHH.
AHH knew that if another ACV moratorium began this week they would be under huge pressure to engage properly with the Foundation as the land had been shown to have a true value of circa £1m based on a sports field valuation. In 14 months no meaningful bids had emerged, and only one interested party went as far as Pre App. The Foundation had offered £1.25m so was not seeking a discounted sale.
AHH have been saved from this reality by the last minute deal with this off shore company.
AHH state on their website -
‘ We’re immensely proud of the difference we’ve made ….. the struggles we’ve helped resolve, the happiness we’ve delivered, and the impact recognised within the wider community.’
Well they have not delivered much happiness in Teddington.
The pictures below show how they left the fields on the day of the sale. When LBRUT last wrote to the Foundation they referred to the ‘alleged dereliction of this property’ and the fact that ‘the extent of disrepair is not agreed by the owners’. I think the photos show the reality of the AHH legacy – seven years of complete neglect.
Even worse, the Chair of AHH is a parliamentarian and former treasurer of the Tory Party - Lord Fink - who did not have the courtesy to reply directly to our MP, Munira Wilson, when she simply asked for him to use his position as Chair to facilitate a meeting to explore the possibility of a sale of an ACV to the community. This is not a party political point but surely he could have spared some time to speak to our elected MP.
Udney Park playing fields are a war memorial bequeathed for the fallen pupils of Merchant Taylor’s School in WW1. This year is the centenary of the opening of Udney Park by Viscount Cave . This fact was apparently totally lost on Lord Fink even though his two sons attended Merchant Taylor’s School.
This point however was not lost on the Chair of Old Merchant Taylor’s, Richard Boorman who offered the Foundation the support of the OMT’s -
“OMT supports the Udney Park Foundation in its quest to acquire Udney Park and its surviving Pavilion as a War Memorial playing field for local community sport. The Merchant Taylors’ War Memorial Trust remains in existence and it would be fitting that the 100th anniversary of the opening of the "Old Merchant Taylors’ War Memorial Sports Ground" is celebrated with Udney Park safely protected as a Fields In Trust Centenary Field"
In a way this is all now academic as new owners are apparently now in place and we will need to engage with them. The Foundation is the the only funded CIC with a detailed business plan to properly manage the fields for the community. We will work with council officers, councillors, all of the local community groups, and indeed the new owners (should they chose to engage) in order to achieve this goal.
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
