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FAQ
Frequently asked questions
• Our primary objection related to the 21-metre (when viewed from the Embankment), 5-storey Wharf Lane building it is proposed be erected on the Diamond Jubilee Gardens on Twickenham Embankment within 10m of the river’s edge
• This overbearing building will drastically alter the skyline and negatively impact Open Space on the riverside
• It will be greater in height and mass than any other building on the High Street and brings almost no amenity value to the public.
• A much-loved children’s playground will be removed – with just one existing tree left standing
• Replacement open space will be confined between tall buildings and relegated to the flood zone.
• We were also deeply concerned by the environmental impact of this scheme. Axing 65 of the 66 established trees on the Embankment (23/24 on the gardens), losing nearly 200m2 of tree canopy and over 100m of native hedgerow does not speak to a greener borough. And while the Council claimed that the scheme would provide replacement trees, even they acknowledge this will take a very long time to establish, if ever.
We support the regeneration and development of the derelict areas (owned by the Council on Water Lane).
That is key to improving the open space the public already enjoys.
We have no objection to the reduction or removal of car parking.
The Council could develop on Water Lane and reduce parking from the riverside while integrating with the Diamond Jubilee Gardens to create a riverside park that would truly improve on what we already have.
The Trust had hoped for meaningful negotiations with the Council about the replacement of the public open space of the Diamond Jubilee Gardens to other areas within the overall site.
However the Council chose instead to pursue the more aggressive strategy of taking out a Compulsory Purchase Order (or CPO) in 2021 on land that it granted to the public barely 10 years previously. The Trust opposed this.
The Trust’s Objection was in two parts.
The first part was a general Objection, on the following grounds:
• That no compelling case in the public interest had been established for a CPO and that it was not an act of last resort.
• That the Council had not proved its case that the public open space had been increased or improved – either in the reprovisioned Gardens or the scheme itself.
Full details around all these points are set out in the documents to be found in the section called “Richmond’s Council’s Compulsory Purchase of the Diamond Jubilee Gardens on Twickenham Riverside” above this 'More Information' section.
The second Objection specifically addressed the Council’s use of Section 19 of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981 to support the CPO.
We were advised by our professional advisors that this was a flawed approach and an inappropriate use of that Section.
The issues related to the overall public open space offered in the scheme. The Council was asserting that:
• the new open space is as advantageous (in size and amenity value) as the existing open space which is being built on.
• that a large section of the existing Gardens needs to be seized by the Council in order to preserve it and improve its management.
Our advice was that neither case was valid.
Full details around all these points are set out in the documents above this ‘More Information’ section.
We have a statutory obligation, as defined by the Charity Commission, to ensure that any exchange or reprovision of land is ‘equally advantageous’ to what exists today.
The professional advice we received was that the public open space provided for in the Council's development proposals was not of equal advantage to what exists today and so we had no choice but to contest it.
The CPO Objections were submitted to the Secretary of State’s office following this very clear advice from the Trust’s professional advisors.
The Trust was advised to object to a process that was not in the best interests of the charity and its beneficiaries, the public.
By objecting to the CPO, we were fulfilling our duties to protect public open space.
The Objections can be seen on this website, above this ‘More Information’ section.
The Trust objected to both the CPO process and to the proposed use of the Section 19 of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981.
The Objections are based on the professional reports commissioned by the Trust in a process that started in June 2021.
Following the consideration of any relevant advice and a meeting, Trustees vote. Those Trustees not present at the meeting can appoint a proxy to vote on their behalf.
For example, the decision to accept the advice from our professional advisors that to object to the CPO process was to act in the best interests of the charity: all Trustees - with the exception of the Council-appointed Trustee, and one absent Trustee who had not appointed a proxy - took part in a discussion followed by a vote. It was a unanimous vote of those present in favour of accepting the advice of the Trust’s professional advisors.
The Council-appointed Trustee does not participate in discussions/votes and nor is party to any professional advice sought by the Trust with respect to the Twickenham Riverside Development. This is due to a conflict of interest that she has declared arising from her employment by the Council.
The Twickenham Riverside Trust is a charity and is therefore subject to Charity Commission guidance and regulations.
The Charity Commission has produced a 32-page Guidance document: “What trustees need to know about disposing of charity land.” The full Guidance can be read here.(https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/622147/CC28.pdf)
The Guidance outlines what trustees ‘should’ do and what trustees ‘must’ do. When it is indicated that trustees ‘must’ do something, this means that there is a specific legal or regulatory requirement that must be complied with.
One of these regulatory requirements relates to when the “original donor” of the land (in this case, the Council) is involved in any transaction. In these circumstances, a charity must obtain an Order, or permission, from the Charity Commission before it can complete any transaction.
To obtain an Order, the Trust will need to present a case to the Charity Commission that the disposal of its land is in the best interests of the Trust, that it will further the purposes of the Trust and that it will be beneficial to the Trust. The proposed terms of any transaction must be the best that can be reasonably obtained and any replacement land must be of “equivalent amenity value.”
The Trust’s legal representatives at BDB Pitmans are specialists in both charity and property law, and have been advising the Trust in its negotiations with the Council since November 2019.
Charity law dictates that the Trust must always consider what is in the best interests of the charity, with reference to its Objects. (https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/5027095/governing-document)This is one of the trustees’ main responsibilities and the Charity Commission emphasises that this must be borne in mind throughout the decision-making process.
To that end, the Trust had carried out a week-long survey of existing users of the Diamond Jubilee Gardens. A detailed report can be found here (undefined)and a shorter two-page summary can be found here.(undefined)
Key points from this survey were used to inform some of the Trust’s ‘Principles for Development’,(undefined) submitted to the Council in December 2018 during early discussions about a riverside development.
These development principles subsequently underpinned the section about the Diamond Jubilee Gardens in the June 2019 RIBA Competitions Design Brief for Twickenham Riverside.
In seeking an Order from the Charity Commission, the Trust would therefore be looking at how successfully any reprovision of the charity land responded to the section about Diamond Jubilee Gardens in the RIBA Competition Design Brief, and also taking into account how the development as a whole addressed both its Objects and the RIBA Competition Design Brief, as created with input from local Stakeholder Groups.
This latter is important as, in seeking an Order, the Trust needs to indicate any opposition to the disposal of the land (and by extension what any disposal thereof enables) and what measures the Trust has taken to resolve any opposition.
At the moment, under the 10-year Management Agreement between the Council and the Trust, the Council is responsible for the maintenance of the Diamond Jubilee Gardens.
However, in 2024 the Trust will become responsible for some aspects of the Gardens’ upkeep.
Several Trustees live near the Gardens, and are able to help the Council’s various maintenance teams with input regarding general maintenance and repairs.
In the past 18 months, Trustees have either organised or liaised closely with the Council regarding:
• new planting to all the Gardens’ planting beds
• weeding/maintenance of the planting beds
• removal of a redundant watering system
• upgrade to the sandpit
• on-going repairs to the c.50 garden lights that are longer working
• on-going work to replace missing benches in both the Gardens and along the Embankment Promenade
• ensuring that the Council-owned empty pool buildings are adequately secured
• replacement bins for the riverside, the ones currently being trialled not suitable for the location
• litter picking in the less accessible areas in and around the Gardens
Lots!
The 10-year Management Agreement - which runs alongside the 125-year lease - requires the Trust to facilitate six events a year to be held on the Diamond Jubilee Gardens.
Every year the Trust presents a schedule of events for the year.
Some sample recent events include working with the organisers of the High Tide Festival to host a large stage on the Events Space on the Diamond Jubilee Gardens and
in 2022 several events were held on the Gardens including hosting the High Tide festival again, showing Wimbledon on the big screen and hosting another Dog Show, a Halloween event and a Christmas Mini-Disco.
Plans for 2023 will be published soon.
All new Trustees receive a ‘New Trustee Pack’, which include copies of the Trust’s lease on Diamond Jubilee Gardens and the Management Agreement, in addition to other background documentation, to include that as recommended by the Charity Commission.
Several Trustees have also taken part in Trustee training sessions organised by the Richmond Council for Voluntary Service.
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