The Richmond Council handling of the termination of a 21 year lease to the Pensford Field Environmental Trust (PFET) and the grant of a ten year to Dose of Nature has been explored in EastSheenMatters previously on 3 and 11 July 2025. The latter drew attention to the requirement for the Council to respond to the Trust’s warning of an intention to start judicial review proceedings. That response has now been published on the PFET website at https://www.pensfordfield.co.uk/news/councilresponse
EastSheenMatters has focussed on the process rather than the merits of the case, mired as it is in incomprehensible secrecy. Not surprisingly given its conduct so far, the Council has resisted any attempt to open up its files.
One interesting though rather legalistic aspect of the case is the Council’s argument that the case is not subject to judicial review because there is no ‘public law element’. It might be thought this is somewhat disingenuous, argued simply to provide opposition in the knowledge that the Trust does not have the funds to mount expensive judicial review proceedings. An objective observer might think that the secrecy with which the simple termination and grant of a lease has been handled lends a distinct public law element.
There were two meetings in July 2024. The Council’s Directors’ Board considered a report on the matter. It proposed that if there was no room for compromise with PFET, their lease would be terminated. It is a matter of dispute as to whether the Council has made any attempt to find a compromise.
At a later meeting the Council’s Service (Committee) Chairs considered the same report. On both occasions it was agreed that officers should implement the actions under delegated powers. On 6 September 2024 an Assistant Director, taking account of the views of those meetings, acted under delegated authority formally determined to terminate the Lease. Why delegate?
The Council’s Response quotes from the report that went to the July 2024 meetings. Both these meetings were referred to in the decision to terminate the PFET lease taken by a Council officer on 6 September 2024 who stated that both boards agreed that the decision should be implemented under delegated powers. PFET has been offered a copy of the report but on condition that “this will be disclosed strictly on a confidential basis, solely for the purpose of the intended judicial review proceedings…..”. Knowing full well that those proceedings are unlikely to occur.
So what is in that report that the Council wants to keep secret? We may never know.
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They had to do it under the cover of ‘officer delegation’ (which is invalid anyway since the constitution and meeting minutes confirm that the Finance committee has sole authority to make property decisions or to delegate such property decisions) in order to keep it out of the public eye so that PFET never found out. If they had found out then they would have objected to it which almost certainly would have scuppered the council’s devious plan.
Another consideration would be the unexpectedly early timing of the 2024 General Election and the negative impact that such a public fiasco could have had on the party’s ‘safe seat’ candidate. It’s an interesting fact that the Directors board decision was made on polling day!
Not only is it extremely irregular that this officer report by Jeremy DeSouza, Executive Director of Adult Social Care and Public Health is still being kept secret, but there is an obvious contradiction in that if this decision had really been taken under General Delegated Powers then any further determination by a chair of committees meeting, would be wholly unnecessary. I’m sure a meeting of service committee chairs is an excellent forum for exchanging views but it most certainly is not a decision-making body and has no authority to determine anything.
Note the latest letter says that “the recommendations were supported” at the chairs of committees meeting, which is a noticeable softening of language compared with the contents of the written decision dated 06/09/24:
“At its meeting of 4th July 2024 the Directors Board approved the recommendation to terminate Pensford Field Environmental Trust’s lease and occupation of Pensford Field and this was subsequently considered and confirmed by the meeting of the Council’s Service Chairs on 19th July 2024. Both boards agreed that officers should implement the action under the relevant powers delegated to officers.”
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