Refusal to release land for Maidenhead United at Braywick Park

The council’s cabinet has decided it will not give over a key piece of open space in Braywick Park for use by Maidenhead United.

The football club haslong held ambitions of movingfrom its York Road ground to Braywick Park, but the release of council-owned land was stopped in its tracks at a meeting last night (Thursday).

Maidenhead United has said it is 'shocked by both the decision and the decision-making process' and will be taking some time 'to consider our position and next steps'.

The football club approached the council in 2019 about the potential to relocate to the northern part of Braywick Park.

At last night's meeting, the cabinet was asked to consider whether to dispose of open land.

The land transfer has been valued at £460,000 financial benefit to the Royal Borough. This followed an agreement between the club and the previous administration in April 2022.

But the council received a total of 22 objections to the Open Space Notice (displayed this March) announcing the intention to dispose of the land, and the decision to lease the land wascalled back in for reviewat a meeting in April.

The objections covered concerns over damage to the environment, loss of green space, ‘destruction of MUFC heritage’ (wanting it to stay where it is) and lack of outline plans for the proposed new football stadium, making it hard to make an informed decision on it.

The most often repeated concern was over the local context – what with the amount of other development due in Maidenhead, and the knock-on effect on open space.

These concerns were echoed by councillors at the cabinet meeting, as well as two members of the public who spoke at the meeting - including Steve Bough, chairman of Braywick Park-based Maidenhead Rugby Club, who has beena vocal opponent of the move.

Speaking at the meeting, Councillor Helen Taylor (TBFI, Oldfield) highlighted that other buildings in the area are ‘love lever’ and haven’t the same capacity to spoil the openness as new MUFC stadium.

“We simply can’t afford to lose any more of our open space in Oldfield,” she added, highlighting the level of development in the area already.

Councillors also questioned if the £460,000 was worth it – given it would be for a 999-year lease.

That would mean MUFC is ‘really only paying about £460 a year’, Cllr Taylor said, and she ‘struggled’ to see the benefit to residents, weighed against the loss of open space.

Cllr Lynne Jones (OWRA, Old Windsor) stressed that in the cost-of-living crisis, land like this is important to keep.

“People need open space they don’t have to pay for,” she said.

Leader of the council, Simon Werner, added that in the context of the golf club development, it was all the more important to protect the Borough’s remaining open space.

Though councillors acknowledged the ‘good work for the community’ the football club has done, the cabinet agreed that the loss of open space would be too much of a loss.

As a result, they voted not to release the land.

In a statement, the football club said: “It is fair to say we are shocked by both the decision and the decision-making process which has been implemented, and the failure of the council to fulfil its obligations to the club and trust.

“We were not even invited to speak at the meeting and yet others were afforded the opportunity, with their statements apparently simply assumed to be true.

“There is no doubt that this decision could havelong-lasting negative implicationsfor the development and growth of the club and the Community Trust.

“Depressingly, the council seemingly does not have other plans for additional facilities the town needs, nor has it identified suitable alternative sites or have the capital funding needed to invest in such facilities.

“Sadly, this decision will also have implications for the growth and impact of the programmes we deliver through our Community Trust including our wellbeing programmes, which support the most disadvantaged in our community and our plans to grow our disability provision.”

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Update

In a statement, the Royal Borough said:

“Disposal of land held as public open space requires a statutory process, which the Royal Borough has followed for Maidenhead United FC’s proposal to relocate to Braywick Park.

“This included the publication in spring 2022 of a Public Open Space Notice, which resulted in 22 public objections.

“The core legal issue for the council is to balance any negative consequences of loss of public open space, having regard to the objections received, against the advantages of leasing the land.

“We appreciate this is not the outcome the club was hoping for and we would like to thank them for their patience while cabinet took the necessary time to consider their proposal and the public objections received.”