Call for scrutiny of town's park handover dismissed

A council has dismissed calls from a cross-party group that wants more scrutiny of a plan that will return a park's management back to the Crown Estate.

In January, the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead's (RBWM) cabinet agreed to terminate its licence for Windsor's Home Park and two car parks after running it for more than 80 years.

RBWM said it "cannot justify" spending up to £3.5m improving the "neglected" park and two car parks when it does not own them.

Councillors said they wanted the decision brought back to its corporate overview and scrutiny panel so it could be looked at again but RBWM rejected that.

A call-in letter argued there was "insufficient pre-decision scrutiny" and that councillors were not given any "valuation or long-term financial modelling" despite the "permanent loss of a significant income stream".

The council stands to lose about £450,000 a year after the Crown Estate takes on the management of the park and King Edward VII and Romney Lock car parks from 1 April.

But the Crown Estate has agreed to pay a one-off £600,000 to the council.

A RBWM spokesperson said the way the decision was scrutinised was "in accordance with constitutional requirements".

They added: "[RBWM] has secured a major investment in the long term future of Home Park.

"This will not only protect and enhance an important local asset enjoyed by thousands of residents but also delivers substantial improvements while significantly reducing financial risk for the council."