Community Football Clubs

Lord Addington Excerpts

Wednesday 28th March 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth]

My Lords, I note what the noble Lord says. Clearly we are hoping for mediation, so perhaps his mediation skills might be brought to bear when we get there—although possibly the approach might be a little more nuanced. I will just add that the situation in Dulwich is by no means unique. There are many other such situations, and the Minister for Sport is determined to look at this in a holistic way to see what we can do.

[Lord Addington (LD)]

My Lords, many sports clubs, especially those with established grounds beside urban areas, are under threat from development. Will the Government give us not just an idea that this should be taken into account but a structure where, if somebody provides a community asset—that is, exercise and community involvement—there is a structure that guarantees the ground and that its activity will not be lost unless there can be some form of replacement on a like-for-like basis, within striking distance of that community?

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth]

My Lords, the noble Lord will be aware of the community assets policy, which I think answers some of the points that he has raised. I will make sure that he has a copy of it, showing how it operates. However, I will say once again that the Minister for Sport is looking at the matter. It is partly a question of contractual arrangements—it is not just a planning situation—because clubs sometimes need advice when entering into contractual arrangements with others. I think that that was part of the problem in the Dulwich case. So there are many aspects to this, but we are determined to look at them.