Linford Christie Stadium
Wormwood Scrubs Charitable Trust Committee meeting 6 Oct 2020
A message from FOWWS Chair Sir Stephen Waley-Cohen
At last week’s meeting of the Wormwood Scrubs Charitable Trust Committee, Miriam Shea and I attended as non-voting co-opted members of the committee, put forward by the Friends. There were three important matters discussed:
The future maintenance contract for the Scrubs can be independent of any other grounds maintenance contract elsewhere within LBHF
The consultants’ report on possible development of Linford Christie Stadium. The proposal is to invite potentially interested developers of all three levels of stadium identified as commercially viable - large sports as for QPR; entertainment arena; enhanced but smaller community sports facility perhaps managed by Imperial College; - to put forward their bids, and how they would address the planning issue of overcoming the protection of Metropolitan Open Land designation for LCS, and other challenges, including protecting the hospital, the pony centre, and the current users and nature of the Scrubs. There is no commitment to any of the three levels of stadium. Only after that – in March according to David Burns, the guiding Council officer who is shortly leaving LBHF for Camden – will there be any assessment of which, if any, of the proposals should be invited to try to move forward. That is when they will have to focus on planning issues including overcoming the restrictions of MOL – almost certainly leading to a public inquiry and a decision by an inspector, not just an LBHF planning department decision. And it’s at that stage that Friends must be ready to mobilise our opposition, if we decide to oppose whatever is decided on.
Miriam and I have a meeting with David Burns and colleagues next week, at which we will be pressing for the stronger inclusion of references to the risks to the rest of the open spaces of the Scrubs of any of the options, so that any would-be developer is required to say how they would mitigate these risks if they were successful.
3. There was also discussion about the interest of an organisation called Slammin’ Events in organising an event during 2021. There was talk of it being for up to 10,000 people. If this idea gets any further, they will have to present their proposal to the WSCT. You may remember proposals a couple of years ago for a Secret Cinema, and another one a year or so before that, none of which came to pass.
How lovely the Scrubs is in this autumn sunshine. Enjoy it, and we’ll all keep working to make sure we can do so long into the future.
Stephen Waley-Cohen, 11/10/2020