Fate of Pensford Field to be decided on 25 June by Council
Will the Council listen to your objections?
Dear Friends,
We cannot thank you enough for sending in your objections which the Council will consider at the meeting of the Finance Policy and Resources Committee on 25 June, 2025.
Many of you put in your own words exactly what the field means to you and your family - we saw 178 letters of objection in all but I do not think everyone copied us in so there may well be more. There were several common themes:
how much the field had helped you to deal with difficult times in your life, albeit not with a formal GP prescription; several parents with children on the autism spectrum mentioned the significance of family visits (including the pond-dipping family!);
the importance of the field to young children - some children wrote about their love of forest school and how it should stay protected “because it is full of memories and goodness”, others mentioned the importance of early exposure of children to nature to mental health in later life (the Council and Dose of Nature accept that more than 3 week days for Dose of Nature (DoN) means less availability for schools and nurseries - DoN do not deal with children under 16);
the inadequacy of the Council’s proposed terms for the new lease which included no provision for free community or school access or any substantive provisions on conservation - an experienced chartered surveyor said that they are “of a professional competence beneath what I would expect to see from a graduate surveyor………….. I fear similar incompetence would be evident in the final lease…….”;
a great deal of concern about the loss of status of Pensford Field as open space protected by law; also many objections from conservation professionals who consider it vital that the site is looked after by an organisation with nature/biodiversity at its core;
the lack of experience of DoN in conservation and the fact that DoN’s charitable objectives relate only to mental health - unless changed, they cannot spend money on conservation or community activities;
the Council’s abuse of process - several lawyers mentioned the inability of the Council to fairly consider representations after all the water that has gone under the Pensford Field bridge; a former councillor and non-executive director described it as “one of the worst cases of poor governance within a public body that I have witnessed.”
outrage about the possible construction of shelters in the field and how this would undermine the “wildness of the site.” and its “unique nature”; concern that there is no transparency over what is planned before award of the lease to DoN;
the lack of any proper information in the notice published in the Richmond and Twickenham Times, very limited information on the website - no real effort to consult using the Council’s normal procedures;
several groups and individuals mentioned the lack of a welcome provided by DoN to other users of the field, particularly during the pandemic;
many of you were very measured about balancing the needs of mental health and conservation but objected on the basis that Pensford Field was just so unique and DoN could operate elsewhere given the Council had demonstrably failed to make exhaustive enquiries - it is hard to see how an extra two days in the field can solve the mental health crisis in the Borough;
much incredulity/embarrassment about the actions of a Liberal Democrat-led Council and many mentioned the impact on their voting intentions at the next election if this decision is not changed; considerable concern over unminuted meetings of the Leader with the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, the Chair of DoN;
general concerns about the council having already made up its mind - “goes against accepted standards of right and wrong", “scandalous,” “smacks of cronyism and corruption”, “grossly unfair and unethical,” “appalling and undemocratic,” “misinformation, evasion and obfuscation by the Council,” “handling of this fiasco has been a complete disgrace.”
I am really sorry if I did not pick out key points from your objection but truly it was an almost impossible task! We have heard indirectly from the Leader and DoN that there has been a certain degree of misinformation and misunderstandings but there have been no specifics of what we have got wrong. We have had no reply to our mark-up of the summary of the lease sent to the Council on 9 May and no reply from the Director of Law and Governance to our email dated 20 May about the impact of Pensford Field losing its status as open space (he previously told Cllr Clare Vollum that the designation of the field is not being changed which we believe to be incorrect).
So we shall see what happens on the 25 June and whether your objections are accurately reflected in the paper to the Committee.
Turning to our summer events, please come to help us on our next two Work Days on 14 June and 12 July from 10am to 12 noon. We aim to get the field looking its best for our Summer Party picnic, possibly our last, on the afternoon of Saturday 19 July at 1.30pm. Follow this link for more details. We very much hope you can join us either to say goodbye or even to celebrate that the Council has actually listened to your objections!
Tickets are still available for a talk on Saturday 14 June at 12.30pm on “Weeds or Wildflowers” by Katrina Roche, Trustee, local gardener and freelance garden writer with a blog, weedsrootsleaves.com To reserve a free place, book on Eventbrite.
Thank you once again for your great support.
All best,
Sarah
Sarah Atkins
Chair of Pensford Field Environmental Trust
