| Topic: | Re:Re:Roehampton Playing Fields - Asset of Community Value | |
| Posted by: | Alan Sherman | |
| Date/Time: | 09/11/17 15:52:00 |
| A quick google of TFC leisure shows they run Rocks Lane in Barnes, Rocks lane in Chiswick, and also the tennis facilities in Bishop's Park. All seem well run places. Rocks Lane Barnes has a cafe and changing facilities, as well as a playground. It is actually quite a good model. More worrying is the 30 year lease. Presumably Wandsworth are trying to avoid capital expenditure to update the facilities - and are using a long lease to make it viable for the lessee to invest in the facilities. The freehold remains with Wandsworth and TFC leisure would be the operator and 'improver' of facilities. Wandsworth should be capital heavy due to CIL (and IIRC the annual accounts reflect this), so seems a bit of an odd move to me. Wandsworth could invest and improve using CIL funds, have a separate 'development' project, and retain ownership of the land. They could contract TFC (or another bidder) to operate the site as a services contract without requiring a long lease. 30 years seems a very long period for a public contract. In my experience a 5+1+1 or a 5+2+2 period of contract is the norm, but that is for a bought service, rather than a ground lease. The terms of the lease contract are key here. E.g. are local schools to be allowed 'free' access at certain times of the day? Is that protected for the next 30 years? What are the rules for determining access to the facilities over the period of the contract (e.g. community groups). And how easy is it to change the terms of the lease? Currently there isn't any allowed public access (all supposed to be booked activities). So you can't wander past and have a kick about with your mates. So although a public facility, it is not open access. That could be improved. |