In mid-August Savills asked for closing bids for the purchase of Udney Park playing fields. Savills advised Jonathan Dunn that they had received a significantly higher offer from A N Other than that which had been put forward by the Foundation. They confirmed at the time that this offer had been accepted.
Five months have now passed and the Foundation have been advised that negotiations continue with the other party. The Savills website continues to state that the site is ‘under offer’. The identity of the other bidder remains unknown.
In the meantime Teddington Rugby Club continue to lease about one third of the site - primarily for floodlight evening training. Their lease also incorporates use of the tennis courts (albeit one of these is out of commission due to deteriorating surfacing). The other two thirds of the fields including the pavilion remain abandoned and all public access is prohibited. Thus genuine community use remains off the table for now.
In the last month or two further restrictions have been placed on any future development. The heritage status of Building of Townscape Merit has been awarded to the War Memorial Pavilion, an application backed by the Old Merchant Taylors and their War Memorial Trust, the original founding body of Udney Park. Udney Park is also being evaluated as a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation in the Richmond Local Plan due to the presence of various protected species.
It is now only 10 months until the Centenary of Udney Park opening as the War Memorial Sports Ground in Teddington in November 1922. The hope had been that the current owners would restore Udney Park to community ownership so that the fields and pavilion could be refurbished in time for the Centenary. This is now appears to be a forlorn hope.
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
