Further news has emerged in the Times about whether Mr Wu is a fit custodian for Udney Park. Mr Wu is the owner of Leisure Focus who purchased Udney Park from Quantum, after a lengthy sales campaign by the estate agents, Savills. Since then, the fields have remained out of use apart from floodlight rugby training by Teddington RFC. Leisure Focus are an opaque business based in the British Virgin Islands and until now not much had been known about the company or Mr Wu. That has now changed with the news below.
Local MP, Munira Wilson, gave an impassioned speech emphasising the importance of retaining playing fields for community use rather than allowing them to be land banked by developers.
I thought that I ought to update everyone as the latest moratorium period under the ACV is about to expire. At this point Mr Wu can market the site again to commercial bidders. Before the moratorium period he attempted to sell the site over a twelve-month period and attracted an offer from a single developer called Mr Williams. This bid later evaporated. No doubt Mr Wu hopes for more meaningful interest the next time around.
The Foundation has received welcome support from the football community as the statements below -
Lee Doyle, CEO of Brentford FC CST
"The Brentford FC Community Sports Trust aims to deliver exciting, progressive and socially inclusive multi-sports participation, coach education and facility development programmes, enabling participants, coaches and volunteers to realise their potential through community sport. The Trust supports the aims of the Udney Park Community Fields Foundation to buy and run these precious playing fields in Teddington"
