Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark To ask Her Majesty’s
Government what assessment they have made of the risks to community
football clubs from land development proposals. Lord Kennedy
of Southwark (Lab Co-op) My Lords, I beg leave to ask the
Question standing in my name on the Order Paper and in doing so
refer the House to...Request free trial
Asked by
-
(Lab
Co-op)
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my
name on the Order Paper and in doing so refer the House to
my relevant interests and also make clear that I am a
member of the Dulwich Hamlet Supporters’ Trust.
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of
Housing, Communities and Local Government and Wales Office
(Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth) (Con)
Congratulations. My Lords, local authorities should assess
the risks posed to sports facilities by development in
their areas. We are clear in the National Planning Policy
Framework that access to high-quality sports and recreation
facilities is important for the health and well-being of
communities. Planning policies should be based on robust
assessment of what an area needs and should make it clear
that facilities should be protected.
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My Lords, Dulwich Hamlet is a much-loved non-league
football club based in Southwark, where I grew up. It was
founded in 1893, which is 125 years ago. Does the Minister
agree that the present situation is tragic, with the club
locked out of the ground, and that the best way forward is
for all interested parties to get around the negotiating
table and reach an agreement that gets Dulwich Hamlet
playing football again at Champion Hill?
-
Yes. The noble Lord will be aware that my honourable friend
, the Minister for
Sport, in answering a debate in the other place, indicated
that she was minded—indeed, determined—to find and appoint
an independent mediator. I would be happy to meet with the
noble Lord to discuss how we can carry this forward; I very
much support what he is up to.
-
(Lab)
My noble friend deserves the title he got of “Campaigner of
the Week” for this campaign. Will the Minister send a
message to Andrew McDaniel, head of the New York hedge fund
Meadow Partners, which owns Meadow Residential, to get
round the table to resolve this problem? Will he also tell
him that treating a much-loved local club like this—putting
up a six-foot security fence with a notice saying
“Trespassers will be prosecuted”—does not help?
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My Lords, I note what the noble Lord says. Clearly we are
hoping for mediation, so perhaps his mediation skills might
be brought to bear when we get there—although possibly the
approach might be a little more nuanced. I will just add
that the situation in Dulwich is by no means unique. There
are many other such situations, and the Minister for Sport
is determined to look at this in a holistic way to see what
we can do.
-
(LD)
My Lords, many sports clubs, especially those with
established grounds beside urban areas, are under threat
from development. Will the Government give us not just an
idea that this should be taken into account but a structure
where, if somebody provides a community asset—that is,
exercise and community involvement—there is a structure
that guarantees the ground and that its activity will not
be lost unless there can be some form of replacement on a
like-for-like basis, within striking distance of that
community?
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My Lords, the noble Lord will be aware of the community
assets policy, which I think answers some of the points
that he has raised. I will make sure that he has a copy of
it, showing how it operates. However, I will say once again
that the Minister for Sport is looking at the matter. It is
partly a question of contractual arrangements—it is not
just a planning situation—because clubs sometimes need
advice when entering into contractual arrangements with
others. I think that that was part of the problem in the
Dulwich case. So there are many aspects to this, but we are
determined to look at them.
-
(Lab)
My Lords, does the Minister agree that one of the
undesirable effects of the rise in property values,
particularly in inner cities, and the introduction of
substantial sums of extra money into football at all
levels, has been the growth of what one might call less
desirable individuals coming in to own and run clubs—and in
some cases to close them down, as we have heard this
afternoon? Does he feel that the football authorities have
sufficient power to implement their fit and proper person
test and keep some of these characters out of the game?
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The noble Lord raises a very important point in relation to
fit and proper persons—and, again, I will make sure that
the Minister for Sport is aware of the concerns expressed
in this House when looking at this issue. In order to
ensure that the House is aware of this, I will simply say
that many successful football players of great wealth are
helping—I think that Rio Ferdinand is an example in
relation to Dulwich. However, the noble Lord makes a
valuable point.
-
(CB)
My Lords, I am delighted to hear that the Minister for
Sport is trying to rescue the situation. My concern in
relation to this Question is the effect, over a number of
years, of the loss of playing fields that have been sold
off by local authorities, having been encouraged to do so
by previous Governments, notwithstanding the commitment to
replace them with new provision. What evidence is there of
the new provision, and what impact is the loss of playing
fields having on young people and their health?
-
The noble Lord is right to raise that issue. He will be
aware that Sport England is a statutory consultee where a
playing field or sports facility is threatened with
closure. The latest statistics show that 1,138 out of 1,200
planning applications in 2015-16 resulted in improved or
safeguarded sports provision. I think that that is about
95%. So it is not 100%, but I hope it will give the noble
Lord some comfort, because it is a very high percentage.
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(Con)
My Lords, is it acceptable to develop sites with flat
surfaces and playing fields on flat roofs? Will my noble
friend look into this?
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My Lords, I will certainly ensure that that matter is taken
to the relevant Minister so that it is looked at.
-
(Lab)
The Minister rightly said that this situation is by no means
unique. He will recall that Brighton and Hove Albion Football
Club—
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Declare your interest.
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I declare an interest as a member of the Brighton and Hove
Albion Supporters’ Club, Lords branch. Focus DIY, which
acquired the club in the 1990s, went bankrupt, and Brighton
and Hove Albion is now in the Premiership. The noble Lord is
right to point out that this situation is not unique, but I
would like to understand what action the Government intend to
take to ensure that vulnerable community-based football clubs
such as Dulwich Hamlet do not fall prey to developers such as
Meadow Residential in the future. There is a serious issue
here that needs to be addressed nationally.
-
I thank the noble Lord and recognise his role in Brighton and
Hove Albion. There are a couple of specific points that I can
mention following the debate in the Commons. My honourable
friend the Minister for Sport said, first, that she would
look at helping clubs with support to produce proper
contractual arrangements when they sell their grounds, which
has often been an issue. The other relevant matter which I
think the noble Lord may be pleased to hear is that she is
asking the Football Association to speak directly to
supporters about a review of clubs that do not own their own
stadiums. That is very relevant in the context of the point
that the noble Lord has raised.
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