Neal’s Lodge
The Council has lost it’s legal appeal on this long running planning application.
The Council has lost it’s legal appeal on this long running planning application.
For those of you that haven’t been following the issue, it centres on what can legally happen in that part of Neal’s Lodge not currently occupied by the The Skylark Café.
The Council initially awarded a contract to a commercially operated private chain of fee paying day care centres. This was appealed last year in a Judicial Review (JR) brought by a private resident, Sandy Muir, on the grounds that the use of common land for a commercial venture which had exclusive use of the premises, fell outside the powers of the Council under the legislation governing the use of the Common. The Council lost the JR with the detailed judgement available here and a more digestible summary in The Times.
The appeal court has now upheld that original judgement. In brief, the court found that the Council should provide and maintain recreational facilities for ‘the public’ whereas the lease to the private nursery would restrict public access and be contrary to the statutory provision under which the Common is held in trust for the use and enjoyment of local inhabitants. The High Court judgement also laid down an important principle that the Common is a public resource that must be managed in the interests of its users, and not as a financial asset for the Council. The 12-page appeal court judgement is here. The focus should now turn to what should happen to the premises
Management Plan Draft Expected around August
As many of you know, Wandsworth Council have commissioned a Management and Maintenance Plan for the Common, for completion by the end of the year.
As many of you know, Wandsworth Council have commissioned a Management and Maintenance Plan for the Common, for completion by the end of the year.
It will be the first formal plan in 40 years so it’s important to be engaged. It will be a blueprint for what happens on the Common for the next 10 years and is especially important given that the contract for maintaining the Common, currently with Enable LC, will be re-tendered next year. The public consultation closed in April with over 900 responses, helped by an active campaign by the MAC. Thanks to all who completed the survey. The MAC's submission to the process can be read here
The consultants writing the plan also held a stakeholder meeting in March. They are now preparing a draft plan to be available in August which will be the focus of further public consultation. We’ll give you further details when we have them.