The next meeting of the Finance, Policy and Resources Committee – Twickenham Riverside Scheme, Decision to use Compulsory Purchase Order Powers – will be on 28th June 2021 at 7:00 pm.
Lengthy talks have been progressing with the Trustees of the Diamond Jubilee Gardens but Richmond’s Council Officers are again seeking Compulsory Purchase powers.
Background –
The Diamond Jubilee Gardens are a Public Open Space overlooking the Thames, owned and managed by the Twickenham Riverside Trust under a long lease from Richmond Council.
Talks have been ongoing for nearly two years to find an acceptable basis for the Gardens to be included in the Council’s plans for developing Twickenham Riverside.
In November 2020 the Director of Environment and Community Services recommended that the Council should take Compulsory Purchase powers ready to acquire the Diamond Jubilee Gardens without any agreement on the part of the Trustees.
At a meeting of the Finance, Policy and Resources Committee the Chair of the Trust asked Councillors to refuse that proposal and avoid confrontation. The Committee withdrew the Gardens from the proposal temporarily, in order to continue by negotiation.
The meeting of the Finance, Policy and Resources Committee on 28th June 2021 will consider a request by Council Officers for authority to use powers of Compulsory Purchase in case the negotiations do not conclude within the Council’s set timeframe for achieving vacant possession of the site.
It is expected that part or all of this meeting will be restricted from the public.
The reason given for restricting this meeting is that information disclosed at the meeting could, in the event of legal proceedings against the Council, be protected by a claim to legal professional privilege.
Five clear working days before the meeting the agenda will be published here –
https://cabnet.richmond.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=801&MId=4973
