A car park in the centre of the Wimbledon arts district will be sold to developers with no restriction on its use despite a final attempt to halt the decision.

The Sustainable Communities overview and scrutiny panel voted last night, Thursday, June 2, to allow the purchase of the Broadway Carpark at 111-127 The Broadway, next to The New Wimbledon Theatre.

Details of the buyer have not yet been made public, but it is believed the space will be used for retail or office space, rather than residential use.

The decision of the Cabinet to sell the land was ‘called in’ by the Merton Conservative Party, who criticised the lack of public consultation, the unknown impact of Crossrail 2 upon the town centre, and the loss of a potential area which could have been earmarked for the arts.

However, cabinet member for finance Mark Allison, insisted that the council had found a good deal, saying: “What makes this particularly hard for us is that ultimately the proof is going to be in the pudding. We can see the pudding but unfortunately we can’t talk about the pudding.

“I’m satisfied that it’s a very good pudding. I’m satisfied, the cabinet is satisfied, that we are achieving a really good deal here for Merton and local residents.

“We have a really good deal here. We have worked long enough to get to this point.”

The Broadway Carpark has a complicated planning history. Cabinet originally agreed back in 2007 to sell the site, on the condition that any development would be made up of both commercial elements and community facilities.

However, in March 2013, Cabinet quashed this decision, and said the carpark should be “disposed of on the open market without restriction on use”. This was called in by the overview and scrutiny commission, but in September of that year the Cabinet decided to uphold its decision and put the site on the open market.

A confidential report was agreed on at a Cabinet meeting on May 18, 2016, detailing the chosen bid.

Former Labour councillor Peter Walker spoke against the unrestricted sale at the meeting, arguing that the space should be used for the community and condemning the lack of effort to work with local art providers.

He said: “This site was actually acquired in 1990 as a replacement for the civic facilities which were lost when the Wimbledon Town Hall site was sold.  That sale lost forever a valuable community hall.

 “By selling this site to the highest bidder, in what appears to be a fire sale of council assets, we are losing forever a chance to develop the arts in Wimbledon. 

“What I find sad is that the brief in March 2013 is for selling, not for developing.”

Property manager at the Ambassador Theatre Group, which includes the New Wimbledon Theatre, Keith Munro, warned that the theatre may be limited in what performances it can put on without space in the car park to place trailers or refrigeration units for ice shows.

Mr Munro said: “We are happy for the development to go ahead, but we urge the planning officers to look at and make sure that all our rights are kept.

“Whatever happens to this site, we would need room to put things, otherwise it will restrict out business and restrict what shows we can bring in.”

Merton Park Independent Residents councillor John Sargeant questioned whether the sale should go ahead considering the future disruption that will be caused by Crossrail 2, which he said was likely to make Wimbledon town centre a “ground zero”.

He said: “Anyone who is not concerned about the impact of Crossrail 2 on Wimbledon really isn’t keeping up.

“For me, it’s going to be critical to keep Wimbledon town centre as a desirable place for people to go and enjoy themselves. You’re going to need space to counter some of the disruption.

“Are we not foreclosing on the options to use the flexibility which the site gives us by relinquishing it at this time, when we don’t know what’s going to come out of Crossrail 2 and we haven’t got very far with the master plan for Wimbledon town centre?”

However, head of sustainable communities, James McGinlay, insisted the right decision was being made despite Crossrail 2.

He said: “The master plan is about what is right for Wimbledon town centre and not about what is right for Crossrail 2.

“We understand there will be upheaval. We need to be sure the town centre continues to be a sustainable town centre despite Crossrail 2.”

What do you think? Email letters@wimbledonguardian.co.uk