HELP NEEDED 'RE LAND TRIBUNALS

Many thanks for all your support but please take the time to sign the petition online - just Google Save the Romany petition it only takes a couple of minutes.

At present the Playhouse Playgroup stand to lose their play area as from the end of this month, (that was built by them over 7 years ago) as the tennis club have served a notice to quit upon their landlords- the Scouts -in relation to that part of the Romany that it is built upon.

This land will we suspect remain unused for the next 3-5 years during which time we believe the developer will be seeking to lobby councillors, the Land Tribunal and Wandsworth Council to try to get planning permission for a private nursery.

What a waste of a valuable community asset.
It is frustrating that the Playgroup will not be able to use the playground but will be able to see it from the confines of the scout hut, slowly rotting away and becoming overgrown over the next few years.

It would appear that the intention is to deliberately exclude access to and to prevent use of the site so that representations can be made by the tennis club or the developer to the effect that the site has not been used or has been abandoned, in order to get the restrictive covenant lifted.

Does anyone out there know anything about Land Tribunals??

Your advice and assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks again

I've also posted on the other thread and I for one can absolutely confirm the Twins Club Playgroup uses the outdoor space as well as the hut - often come rain or shine!

I will be writing to Wandsworth Council to underline my strong expectation that they do what they were entrusted to do in upholding the covenant. If not, shame on them.

Many thanks for the posts in supports and the PM's received.
Can I just add that what I belive to have been misrepresentations made to Mr Buss at WBC (especially that only the scout hut is used- not the outside space) were made in order to suggest that the Romany site can no longer be used for sporting or leisure purposes - these being the core values of the restrictive covenant.

If the tennis club can successfully argue that the site is no longer used [u][b]or no longer capable of being used[/b][/u] for these 2 purposes, then they could probably succeed in getting the restrictive covenant lifted or amended to allow the development.

The most common grounds for the Lands Tribunal agreeing to discharge or modify the restriction are that the restriction is obsolete due to the change in the nature of the neighbourhood since the time it was originally imposed, or that the restriction prevents the reasonable use of the property and modification would not result in those entitled to the benefit of the covenant losing something which provided a practical benefit of substantial value, [u]and, money would be an adequate compensation for any loss suffered.[/u]

An application to the Lands Tribunal is a lengthy process sometimes taking in excess of 2 years and can prove to be very costly. Also, the result of an application to the Lands Tribunal is by no means certain, there is a great deal of discretion given to the Lands Tribunal to assess what they believe to be a practical benefit of substantial value.

An applicant will need to instruct an expert to report on whether the person entitled to the covenant would loose any practical benefit of substantial value. It is the expert’s responsibility to calculate any decrease in value which the proposed development might have on the land entitled to the benefit of the restrictive covenant.

So it may only be a question of money if the council are persuaded that the land is no longer used or usable for the purposes originally intended under the restrictive covenant.

So, keeping the site in use and usable is vital. All users of the site should actively make their presence known to the council by signing the petition. It would not hurt to write direct to the council (suggest Mr Buss) directly.

Playgroup and the other groups that use the Romany are so important to our community. When I moved to the area I couldn’t believe that such a unique and special place existed in London. Taking my son to Playgroup was such an important part of our week. I didn’t know other Mums in the area and staying at home with a toddler can be lonely. Lisa and Liza’s dedication and the warm welcome they extend to everyone means Mums look forward to Playgroup as much as the children do.
Save the Romany!

Thanks for the information but just wanted to add, Wandsworth Twins club currently has 241 members, when I say members, that's 241 families, which means way way more than 482 little ones! We have some triplets and lots of our twins have siblings too. Obviously not that many children come to our weekly playgroup all at once, but it is SUCH a vital part of what the club is all about. The support from meeting people in similar situations is so important, and it would be devastating to lose this precious space.

As I've posted on the save the Romany thread , this site has been a life line to my sons for the last 18+ years...playgroup, cubs, scouts ...I am appalled that Wandsworth council would EVER allow the breaking of the covenants to hand the land over to a private developer , depriving hundreds of local children the chance to be cubs & scouts , where they forge outdoor skills that are so lacking in our young people today in such a safe wonderful setting . Scout groups are open to all children from every section of our community and the children who attend scouts at the Romany come from all over Wandsworth I believe.

I too will be watching VERY closely how Wandsworth council handle this whole issue . I sincerely hope that Mr Buss and his fellow councillors uphold the covenants they hold and ignore any "free places offered at posh nursery for disabled children " or any other inducements offered by this ruthless, money grabbing developer . I hope they stand with us , their community , and block every step of this developers and tennis clubs plans and Save The Romany for future generations of Wandsworth children.

Well done to Justlivid for explaining the situation so clearly.
This land should be protected by the restrictive covenant but developers seem to look at these as an inconvenience only, something their clever lawyers can get overturned.
The reasons why this covenant was put in place was for community use not for some swanky expensive nursery to make somebody very rich.
The Romany is used by several hundred local children a week at no cost to the council but of unmeasureable value to the social wellbeing of many families.
Wandsworth Borough Council this is in your hands to uphold and protect the restrictive covenant placed in your trust.
Do not let us down

I'm a planning lawyer currently on maternity leave and happy to help draft any letters of objection/make representations re the planning or look at whether the Council is acting unlawfully, although it would have to be in a non professional capacity. Don't think I'd be the best person to help advise on the restrictive covenant or obtaining an injunction though. PM me if you think I might be able to help.

Interesting point about the restrictive covenant.

Surely, Trustees (i.e. Wandsworth Council) can be taken to court if they decide to break the covenant and an injunction put in place against any inappropriate development.

Of course, it's expensive, but I imagine there must be enough lawyers/barristers in Nappyvalley - perhaps, someone could do it pro-bono?

Thank you for the update.

Could you email me on nappyvalleynet@btinternet.com?

I'd be interested to know what else NVN might do in terms of lobbying.

Thanks!

I would like to add my tuppence worth to the campaign to save the Romany by adding a bit of background. Please take the time to read this. What the community is facing is the very real prospect of losing a very rare community asset- a secluded, green and safe environment for toddlers and children of all ages that was recently granted the status of an Asset of Community Value (ACV). But WHY???

This site has been the home of the 1st Wandsworth Scouts Group in Earlsfield since the 1960’s having been formed over 100 years ago. As their name suggests, they were the first Scouts Group set up in Wandsworth.

Closely linked to the scouts are the [b]Playhouse Playgroup[/b], the [b]Wandsworth Twins Club[/b], a dance school and the Trefoil Guild who all share the same site -known as "the Romany", a name that dates back to the days when Romany gypsies regularly met on Wandsworth Common in the early 1800's. Apparently a couple of original Romany gypsy wooden caravans can still be seen from the train on the way in to Victoria or Waterloo on the rhs just before the Chesney’s warehouses.

Anyway, the site became a tennis club that then moved a few yards over the road to become Magdalen Park Lawn Tennis Club- which is thriving. A long lease was granted to the scouts and this is now up for renewal- in fact the scouts have been seeking to renew it for a number of months.

The Scouts thought that all was hunky dory until they read a recent report from Mr Buss director of finance and deputy chief executive of Wandsworth Council -following his meeting with representatives from the tennis club who tried to lift the ACV listing- that revealed that the tennis club had no intention of granting the extension to the lease. Instead the tennis club stated that they would “vigorously oppose” the renewal and would allow an extension of only 3 years, 5 at the most.

This came as a huge shock to the Scouts and everyone else who uses the site. The scouts now realise why the tennis club had been delaying the renewal – Oh, and racking up their legal costs at the same time.
It is now understood that the tennis club have been in discussions for some months to sell or lease the site to a local developer who wants to build a private childrens nursery on the site. As the Scouts allow other community groups to use the site and scout hut for nominal sums, all now are at risk of losing their "home".

Tough, you may say, Its the tennis clubs land to do with as they want, but is it? The issue is this:- there is also a restrictive covenant (until 2100) on the site that allows it to be used only for sporting or recreational uses. The tennis club know this.

Further, the covenant also restricts the building of any structures other than pavilions or similar that support the restricted uses - the old owners who first set up the Trust and restrictive covenant, agreed yonks ago that the scouts could build their hut on the site. Fine, so what's the problem?

The Trustees of the covenant are now Wandsworth Borough Council...... Hello. (They have endorsed the Playhouse Playgroup use of the site by the way- just in case you were thinking…).
Some may say that this must be good, after all, when the tennis club recently tried to get the ACV listing removed, the aforementioned Mr Buss at Wandsworth Council (a good man obviously) rejected their representations. So far so good.

Surely the council will continue to uphold the restrictive covenant and prevent inappropriate development on the site?
Well, I wish that the local councillors and MP's that I have spoken to could give me that assurance. Far from it. Well, you know, the council is always looking for ways to raise funds to pay for improvements to pavements........

So I guess you have to just sit back and let those who were entrusted with the safe keeping of the site and its use for sporting and recreational uses, to allow it to be developed- after the developer has paid a chunk into the newish Infrastructure Levy scheme that helps WBC balance the books back at the Town Hall. And Why Not? It all helps the community after all, surely you can see that?

Why not indeed. It seems that members of the very community who these councillors are supposed to be serving apparently are irrelevant when it comes to £££££££. It appears that the Town Hall are more likely to take the money rather than what I see as their duty to honour, protect and maintain the restrictive covenant entrusted to them until 2100. In short, it seems that money will win over the interests of community groups such as playgroups or Scout troops or indeed the largest Twins Club in London with parents from Wandsworth, Tooting, Putney, Balham, Earlsfield, Battersea, Southfields, Wimbledon, Stockwell, Clapham, Brixton and Streatham. All will lose their home. Have a look at the Twins Club websitehttp://www.wandsworthtwinsclub.org.uk/. And yes, that is the Romany site on their Home Page. They do fantastic work for mothers struggling to cope with the pressures of raising twins. I have seen Mums there close to breakdown.
The environment at the Romany is unique and far removed from the sterile and cold hospital style facilities normally associated with help groups or even playgroups. It has been mentioned before, but this is an oasis and in itself can and does, I am sure, help struggling Mums and kids alike to recharge the batteries.

These are the sorts of community groups that need the councils support and protection and yours as well. Over 120 Playhouse Playgroup kids use the site. 150+ Scouts. 120 members of the Twins Club. Over the years goodness knows how many thousands of Wandsworth kids and residents have used the facilities at this fantastic site.

I doubt that there is another like it in the Borough.

Lets see if the other councillors in Earlsfield can put their political differences aside and form a cross party support group that ensures that these community assets are not sold off for development at a time when safe, green outside space is getting hard to find.

The council were entrusted with the safe keeping of this site. You can help ensure that they don't mess this one up. That is what the petition is all about. There is a matter of principle to be upheld here. This is worth putting pen to paper for.

If you have not already read the petition, or a flyer or been Tweeted etc, please take the time to sign the petition that is available online - just google Save the Romany or click on this link http://www.nappyvalleynet.com/petition-against-the-redevelopment-of-the-romany-scout-hut/
Many thanks. I'll crawl back under my rock now.