Plan To Give TLC Leisure Roehampton Playing Field Contract Ditched
Local Trust now plan bid to take over management with Council giving support to work with the community
Doverhouse Lions Youth and Disability FC enjoying training on the fields
Wandsworth Council has abandoned plans to hand over the management of Roehampton Playing Fields to TFC Leisure Ltd. The decision was taken on 11 February by the Council's Executive Group following objections raised over the last year by users of the open space. TLC Leisure Ltd also run Rocks Lane Multi Sport Centres in Barnes, Bishops' Park and Chiswick.
The Council has now pledged to work with the community to determine how the park will be managed in the future.
The Trust say they will participate in the tender process later in 2019 with the ambition that the future management and operation of the Playing Fields is for and with the community.
The Trust was established at the end of 2017 and is a coalition of community groups who put together an alternative Community-led bid to take over the running of the Playing Fields when plans were announced for TFC Leisure Ltd to run the fields after plans agreed in 2010 for Roehampton University fell through.
The Trust has received "strong and effective support" for the Trust from Justine Greening MP and Councillor Steffi Sutters, and a spokesperson for said, "The Trust is poised to deliver its exciting vision for the Fields, for the benefit of users and the community".
The Trust says that its tender will focus on the added value it can bring to under-utilised community resource, and the enduring benefits it is committed to creating for all members of our diverse community.
The Roehampton Playing Fields Community Trust comprises all the principal users of the Fields: Doverhouse Lions Youth and Disability FC, St James’ Cricket Club, Nasir Cricket Club and Putney primary schools, all the neighbouring residential groups (Dover House Estate Residents’ Association, Westmead Conservation Area residents and residents of Queen Mary’s Place), local amenity groups such as the Putney Society and other local organisations and charities.
These are all represented on the Trust Stakeholder Board chaired by Justine Greening, MP for Putney, Roehampton and Southfields, who welcomed the new developments: “For the past year I've chaired the Roehampton Playing Fields Community Trust meetings. This is a group of local residents and Playing Field users who have come together to form the Trust and develop plans for how the Roehampton Playing Fields could be better run with involvement from our local community.
"There's been some great work from the Trust to bring in all sorts of local groups and residents that are keen to see how they can get more involved with using the Playing Fields. It's been crucial to have our West Putney councillors involved and helping out too, including Councillor Steffi Sutters. We're now delighted that the Council has agreed to open up a new process for how the Playing Fields are run and looked after so that our Trust can put its proposals forward. There'll be a consultation first, and I'll keep residents updated on that.”
A representative of the Trust told this website that it is very grateful to all the local volunteers, and also to Steffi Sutters and Justine Greening, for their support and confidence. They believe that the real hard work starts now and the Trust will need even more enthusiastic local community members to enlist in their efforts to make the Fields a sustainable and viable asset for many years to come.
Cllr Steffi Sutters, pictured above, told this website, “Our priority is to provide much better facilities for local schools, sports clubs and community groups to enjoy. The playing fields are popular and well used but the site does need significant investment to upgrade its facilities, especially its changing rooms pavilion which does need a great deal of work to bring it up to standard.
“We are committed to working with the trust and others through the tender process with the sole aim of delivering the kind of high quality sports and training facilities that meet the needs of local schools, sports clubs and the wider community in the years ahead.”
If you would like to get involved and to help the Trust, or just to find out more, then please contact info@roehamptonplayingfields.org.
The Trust says it has already achieved a great deal and has a firm base from which to finalise its plans:
● Galvanised the local community and users within the Community Trust to save the Playing Fields
● Raised initial pledges of community funding totalling £200,000
● Identified very considerable additional demand from new users who are keen to make use of the site
● Consulted with similar organisations, to understand best practices for the running of the Fields
● Held Remembrance Day and Christmas Carol events to further help bring the community closer together
● Carried out surveys in concert with local residential and user groups
● Produced a thorough, robust and sustainable business plan
● Drawn up compelling Community Impact Statements with current and prospective users
TFL Leisure have not responded to requests for comment.
February 15, 2019