Teddington residents have responded to a new brochure advertising the sale of Udney Park playing fields which was released by Savills Estate Agents last Friday (18 June).

The brochure, seen by Nub News, highlights the "development and investment potential" of the site, particularly its car park and pavilion locations.

However, it has attracted criticism from people in Teddington who claim the brochure is inaccurate and over-optimistic in its presentation of the fields.

Philip Barnes is a member of the Friends of Udney Park group which has campaigned against the development of Udney Park fields since 2015.

He said: "I have seen a copy [of the leaflet] and am alarmed that information given in it is very wide of the mark, possibly misleading, and paints an over optimistic position of the true planning and factual position.

"Savills say that the land is an investment and development opportunity, but they seem to have forgotten the following crucial matters.

"One, the Site is ecologically important – there is a maternity roost of bats beside the car park, and they feed and travel along the dark corridor that goes over the car park. There is no sensible prospect of development on that part of the Fields.

"Two, the car park and pavilion are both intrinsic parts of the sports fields themselves. If the car park were built on it would be essential to build on part of the Fields themselves to provide replacement parking.

"Parking would be essential to the operation of the Fields as the local roads are already chock full of traffic and parked cars.

"There is no prospect of permission being granted to tarmac over any of this Local Green Space, particularly given the powerful decision of the Inspector against building on this LGS, and the previous Inspector being firmly convinced that the land is certainly LGS (the highest level of planning protection available).

"Three, the whole site is an OOLTI (Other Open Land of Townscape Importance), not most of site as stated by Savills.

"Four, the site is an Asset of Community Value .

"Five, the "residential apartment" above the pavilion changing rooms is a groundsman's flat and tied to the use of the Fields as playing fields.

"Finally, there are two further planning restrictions looming on the horizon: the Pavilion may be listed as a Building of Townscape Merit - this was recommended by Heritage England at the Public Inquiry - and second, the whole Park may be classified as Site of Metropolitan Interest for Nature Conservation"

"In summary, there is no "development potential" on this site, as Savills suggest.

"If there is yet further prevarication, the council should consider a CPO of the Site so that it can be used – as always intended – as Playing Fields."

Other residents also gave their reaction to the brochure.

Jat Mistry, who is hoping to see the fields back in use for next season for the 650 children who play football for Hearts of Teddlothian FC, said: "It is really disappointing to see this process drag on.

"The brochure suggests that the car park and pavilion might have development potential, but this would render the fields unusable as there would be no-where to cark vehicles or get changed or showered after games so for me this is a non-starter."

Jonathan Dunn, who is leading a community bid to buy the fields , told Nub News: "I have had entirely open and professional dialogue with Savills over the last couple of months and would still hope to agree a sale value that is both palatable to the investors, and achievable for the community bid.

"The land is not owned by a single entity and Quantum need to demonstrate to their investors that a best price has been achieved. This sales campaign is part of this process.

"My personal belief is that a speculative development is a non- starter given all the restrictions on this site.

"A commercial sporting bid is also unlikely given the ecological considerations limiting the use of fencing, artificial surfaces, and extensive sports lights.

"The ACV period expires in mid-August and my hope remains that meaningful dialogue between now and then can lead to a sale to the community."

Details of the bid can be found here .

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Hampton Wick Councillor Robin Brown commented: "Local councillors and our MP support the community bid for Udney Park and completely reject Savills' suggestion that there is 'development potential'.

"This should be clear to anyone who looks at the planning appeal judgement and local planning policies.

"No sensible developer is going to fall for this marketing spin, Quantum should stop time wasting and get on with a sale to the community trust."

Nub News has contacted Savills for comment.

Below is an extract from the brochure:

FORMER IMPERIAL COLLEGE PRIVATE GROUND, Udney Park Road, Teddington, TW11 9BG.

For Sale - A Unique South West London Development & Investment Opportunity.

OPPORTUNITY SUMMARY:

A unique opportunity to purchase a significant landholding in The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames with both development and investment potential.

The key highlights of this rare opportunity are as follows:

• The site will be sold freehold with an ability to secure vacant possession.
• Located in the heart of Teddington, the site benefits from good transport links and access to the local amenities on Teddington High Street, green open spaces and The River Thames
• The broadly rectangular site extends to approximately 5.19ha (12.84 acres)
• The site is currently in use as sports playing fields, alongside a pavilion building, car park and tennis courts.
• The existing pavilion extends

to approximately 712 sq m GIA (7,663 sq ft) and is configured as changing room facilities on the ground floor, with a C3 residential apartment on the first floor.

Road, Teddington, TW11 9BG

LOCATION

This south west London site falls within the jurisdiction of London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.

The Site is accessed from Udney Park Road which connects Teddington High Street in the north to Cromwell Road in the south. The surrounding area is predominantly residential, providing a mixture of terraced and detached housing.

Teddington High Street is 160 m (0.1 miles) north of the site and offers a range of local & independent retailers, food stores, restaurants and cafes. Bushy Park is 950 m (0.6 miles) south west of the site and provides in excess of 1,000 acres of green space and waterways.

The transport connections are good. Teddington Station (South Western Railway) is located 600 m (0.4 miles) west of the site, roviding services to Clapham Junction (25 minutes), Vauxhall (30 minutes) and Waterloo (35 minutes). There are a number of nearby bus routes providing services to Richmond, Kingston, Twickenham, Heathrow and Croydon. The site has a PTAL rating of 2. (Source: TfL)

Teddington is an affluent south west London centre, popular with families and couples due to the good local state and independent schools, proximity to the river, large open spaces and the local leisure and retail amenities.

DESCRIPTION

The broadly rectangular site extends to approximately 5.19 ha (12.84 acres) and is largely green open space in use as sports playing fields.

A sports pavilion, which is not currently in use, is situated on the western side of the site adjacent to the car park. There are three tennis courts situated in the south western corner of the site.

The site is currently designated as an Asset of Community Value (ACV).

Ordnance Survey Crown Copyright 2021. All rights reserved. Licence number 100022432.

TOWN PLANNING

A planning application was made in 2018 (Ref:18/0151/FUL) for an extra-care community and GP surgery, with new public open space and improved sports facilities. The application proposed extensive redevelopment of the site, which was refused, appealed and then dismissed:

The planning inspector commented that the very special circumstances necessary to justify the development were not met.

Most of the site is designated as Local Green Space and Other Open Land of Townscape Importance.

DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL

The Property offers both development and investment opportunities, subject to securing the requisite consents.

In other circumstances, development of playing fields or urban green space has been justified through the public benefit that such development might enable. Redevelopment of the existing car park and pavilion lots would appear warranted, but partial development of the wider property may also be justifiable and interested parties should form their own opinion on this opportunity.

Further commercialisation of the existing playing fields, which are currently not open to the general public, would also appear possible. Uses such as horse riding, allotments, temporary event spaces and intensifying the existing use as sports facilities might be considered appropriate and could derive an enhanced income stream.

Car Park Site

The car park is free from the policies applied to the wider site and we therefore consider it to be a feasible development proposition. The proposals for this element of the site in the previous application were for a 3 storey block containing 9 apartments. The site measures approximately 0.09 ha (0.22 acres).

The Planning Inspector was satisfied that the proposals would not result in an overbearing effect for nearby residents and that the design would not be harmfully out of keeping with the area.

Pavilion Site

The existing pavilion building is included in the 3 key policy allocations (Local Green Space, Other Open Land of Townscape Importance and Asset of Community Value) and plays an important role as an accompanying use to the playing fields.

Comprehensive redevelopment of the pavilion building and surrounding grounds could be justified through the benefit derived from improved sports facilities and public accessibility to the property that such development could enable.

The existing pavilion extends to approximately 712 sq m GIA (7,663 sq ft) and is configured as changing room facilities on the ground floor, with a C3 residential apartment on the first floor.