Reports suggest future of facility set to be revealed shortly
The terrace at the Bank of England Sports Ground. Picture: BoE Centre Members' Group
|
The long drawn out uncertainty of the Bank of England Sports Ground in Roehampton may soon end with reports suggesting a new owner will be announced shortly.
A report in iNews states that the sale of a lease by the governors is due to be finalised after being put on hold due to the pandemic. The identity of the likely buyer has not been revealed but it is believed it is ‘sports orientated’ and that it will not be one of the major chains of gym operators such as Virgin Active or David Lloyd.
It is understood from the BoE Centre Members’ Group that the new owner would be committee to the whole of the centre remaining as a sports facility ‘for a number of years’.
The grounds have been designated as a Asset of Community Value which means that the Bank would have to consider a community based bid of equivalent value to any it accepts from a commercial operator.
The site closed to the public at the end of last month to allow qualifying tournaments for the Wimbledon Tennis Championships to be hosted there.
The Bank has owned the 32 acre site since the beginning of the twentieth century but decided to sell a lease on the site in September 2019 after MPs complained about the associated cost.
The article in iNews indicates that the buyer could be the All England Club which hosts the Wimbledon Tennis championships and has previous expressed an interest in the site. It has a contract for the qualifying tournament at the Roehampton facility but recently announced expansion plans for the development of land holdings in the Wimbledon Park area which would allow it to switch the matches to there by 2028. The All England Club has not replied to requests for comment on the matter.
A director of the Bank has stated earlier that preferred bidder for the site would continue the provision of sports facilities to existing users of the site. However this statement was made before the pandemic caused the delay of the sale and it is not known if the current likely purchaser is the same entity.
Estate agency Gerald Eve is handling the sale. It says, “On the instruction of the Bank of England, Gerald Eve are delighted to bring this renowned and historic site to the market for the first time in over 100 years.
“The site provides a unique investment opportunity in its existing use, or alternatively presents a variety of redevelopment options for a range of uses, subject to obtaining the necessary permissions.”
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
May 14, 2021
