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Agenda item

Beckenham Place Park

Decision:

 

That the following be referred to Mayor and Cabinet: That

 

·         The questions tabled by Councillor Curran and interleaved with this agenda be referred to Mayor and Cabinet and officers be requested to ensure that their report to Mayor and Cabinet addresses these questions.

 

·         The additional information should be provided on the current contract with Glendale regarding the maintenance and management of the golf course, prior to a decision by Mayor and Cabinet. This was to to ensure that an analysis of the true profit potential could be made.

 

 

Minutes:

3.1       Councillor Curran introduced the item explaining it was in response to a petition to the Council of more than 5000 signatures. Councillor Curran reported that he has received some suggested questions from one of the Petitioners and he tabled these at the meeting, a copy of which will be interleaved with the agenda.

 

3.2       Alison Taylor, Project Manager, Capital Programme Delivery, introduced the report and highlighted the following key points:

 

·         The park represented 98 hectares of open space and was the largest part in the London borough of Lewisham.

·         The park had substantial heritage and character and included: ancient woodland; an eighteen century mansion and stable park; a café; gardens; and a golf course.

·         Usage surveys indicated that the park was underused compared with comparable parks.

·         Consultants carrying out usage analysis concluded that there were a number of barriers to higher usage namely: lack of key attractions; lack of investment meaning there was a “run-down” feel; large areas of the park feeling un-accessible due to the usage by the golf course.

·         The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant had been awarded on the basis of a master-plan which was shaped by substantial consultation.

·         Should the golf course be maintained this would represent a significant change to the proposal and a new bid would need to be made to HLF which was felt to be very unlikely to be granted.

·         Maintaining an 18 or 9 hole golf course had been ranked bottom of the prioritisation list during the consultation process.

 

3.3       Carole Hope, Andrew Tonge and Jenny Kay addressed the Committee regarding the petition and highlighted the following key points:

 

·         Beckenham Place Park had the only public golf course in inner London and provided a fantastic resource for the public.

·         The course had a diverse range of users and usage did not impact on attracting other park users to the park.

·         The proposed closure discriminated against the diverse group of users.

·         There was not a viable business case for the closure of the course and with good management it had the potential to be a profitable asset to the Council.

·         The contract with Glendale was seen to be a factor in the levels of subsidy that LB Lewisham were currently providing.

·         The course was 100 years old and therefore had its own heritage legacy which should be celebrated.

·         There were many positive aspects of the regeneration proposal and the Heritage Lottery bid, but to realise these, there was no necessity to close the golf course.

·         With good management the golf course could generate a substantial income for the Council.

 

3.4       In the discussion that followed, the following key points were raised:

 

·         Comparison between Ladywell Fields and Beckenham Place Park could be problematic as they had different levels of accessibility and proximity of local transport links and housing.

·         The current Council subsidy to golfers was approximately £10 per round of golf.

·         The demographics of the park users from sample surveys taken at different times of the day showed an under-representation of women, children and non-white park users.

·         The future of the mansion house was being reviewed and it was possible that this would be the subject of a further bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund.

·         There had been a decline in golf nationally and there were many other courses within 30 minutes of Beckenham Place Park. Many other local authorities had closed similar facilities in the last year.

·         Based on sample studies 75% of people who signed the petition did not live in the London Borough of Lewisham.

·         Priorities of the Heritage Lottery Fund were to attract large amounts of public to a free facility and protecting heritage.

·         Clarity on the nature of the Glendale contract for managing the golf facility would be helpful to ensure that the true profit/loss potential had been assessed. 

 

RESOLVED:

 

1)    That the questions tabled by Councillor Curran and interleaved with this agenda, be referred to Mayor and Cabinet and officers be requested to ensure that their report to Mayor and Cabinet addresses these questions.

 

2)    That additional details on the current contract with Glendale be provided so that an analysis of the true profit potential of the golf course was possible.

Supporting documents: