Answers to questions arising from the proposed sale of Shotwick Park, Cheshire
In February 2021 the Council’s Cabinet approved in principle the sale of its landholdings in Shotwick to Mr Lex Greensill, to enable a programme of environmental enhancements proposed by him to the local community.
Throughout this process, the Council has been clear that it wished to progress the sale with the support of the local community, recognising that, as their elected representatives, the Parish Council and Borough Councillor had an important role in determining the degree of local support to what is a unique and novel proposal. Having initially expressed strong support for the scheme, more recently the Parish Council has raised a number of concerns and questions. Cheshire West and Chester Council officers have sought to respond to these questions as and when they have arisen. However, we recognise that the community would find it helpful to have the key questions and our responses in one place. That is the purpose of this document.
Some of the questions that have been raised are directed at the proposed purchaser, or to the leadership of the Parish Council itself. The Q&As presented here only cover those within the remit of Cheshire West and Chester Council. Key documents associated with our decision-making process are embedded as links within the text.
We hope the Parish Council and local community find this a helpful summary of the key issues that have been raised. We stand ready to respond to any further questions within our remit.
Cheshire West and Chester Council has been disposing of its farm estate and other surplus assets since 2011. The receipts generated have enabled substantial investment across the borough. The Farms Policy was reviewed in December 2021, to place greater emphasis on the opportunity to secure wider environmental and social benefits, alongside the continued opportunity to raise receipts for reinvestment. Full details of the policy are available online.
Shotwick Park is one of the remaining areas of farmland in the Council’s ownership. Following a proposal from Mr Greensill associated with significant environmental benefits, and expressions of positive support from the Parish, the Council initiated discussions about this potential sale in 2019.
The map identifies approximately 500 acres of land included with the sale, shown edged red and incorporating various farms, land and woodland on either side of Lodge Lane, Saughall.
Following agreement over the terms and conditions, the sale was approved in principle by Cheshire West & Chester’s Cabinet on 10 February 2021. A copy of the Cabinet paper is available online.
Under our policies for delegated decision-making, detailed terms were approved by the Director of Commercial Management & Delivery in November 2021, the sale agreed, and conveyancing instructions issued. Since then, the conveyancing process has continued, and is now progressing towards completion. Recently the Parish Council requested that Mr Greensill agree to a restrictive covenant being included in the sale agreement, and has now also requested that the process is paused while further assurances are provided by the buyer about his commitment to deliver on his declared intentions for the land. Once these concerns have been addressed, and we can confirm that the original basis on which the Cabinet decision was made still applies, the sale can proceed to completion.
All disposals of land are governed by the legislation set out in section 123 of the Local Government Act 1972. This includes a requirement for the Council to secure the best reasonably achievable value from the sale of its asset. In addition, the Council has adopted a policy for the sale of its land holdings, available at Cheshire Farms | Cheshire West and Chester Council and makes decisions according to its constitution.
Following the Cabinet decision in February 2021, and in the light of well-publicised concerns about the buyer’s business interests and relationships with national politicians, the sale process was paused while the Council’s audit service conducted a review of the sale, to assure the integrity of the council’s decision-making process. Their report to the Council’s Audit and Governance Committee on 8 June 2021 is available online. Recommendations from the audit process were approved, and the sale process was re-started on that basis. Cheshire West and Chester Council is therefore confident that the sale process has proceeded according to best practice in local government decision-making.
The Parish Council has no legal title to the land, and no decision-making responsibilities in respect of its sale. However, the decision to sell the land, made in principle by the Council’s Cabinet in February 2021, and considered further by the Council’s Audit and Governance Committee in June 2021, referred to the importance of continuing to demonstrate support from the local community. The views of the Parish Council, as a democratic representative of the local community, alongside the elected Borough Councillor, have therefore been important during every stage of the sale.
In August 2019 the Parish Council wrote to Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Chief Executive to express its strong support for the buyer's proposals, stating that they were “extremely supportive of Mr and Mrs Greensill’s outstanding proposition to turn the local area into something really quite special”. There was subsequently confirmation of broad support in the local community following Mr Greensill’s presentations to local people later that year, and again in August 2021 following the completion of the audit report on the sale.
The Council routinely disposes of assets and has robust and transparent governance in place to oversee and approve asset sales. There is no statutory duty for councils to carry out a public consultation prior to the disposal of assets, and it would not be practical to do so in most cases. However, in this case, additional steps were taken to test the views of the local community. As the democratic representatives of the local community, the Parish Council and Borough Councillor have been consulted at several stages of the process. We did not prescribe the methods that they should use to determine the consensus views of their residents and left it to the Parish Council to determine the appropriate means of public engagement. We recognised that there would be considerable local interest in the sale and that not everyone in the village would be supportive. We have therefore allowed time within the sale process to enable further discussion to take place and for questions and concerns to be addressed as far as possible.
Statutory planning and public rights of way provisions provide important protections, irrespective of ownership. The development potential of the land is severely limited. The site is located within the boundaries of the North Cheshire Green Belt and in addition is located outside a settlement boundary. The area is subject to protection through national and local planning policy and legislation. Areas of the site are also subject to protections in relation to the natural environment, having regard to biodiversity considerations. The owner of any land with a public right of way has a legal duty to keep the route visible, unobstructed and ensure users are not endangered.
Although after its sale the Council would no longer have ownership control of the land, we are confident that our statutory powers and responsibilities, which also involve an influential role for the Parish Council, provide a strong level of protection.
The Parish Council has expressed concerns that the current Planning status of the land (described above) is insufficient to provide the assurance they are seeking. In response, Mr Greensill agreed that he would make an additional commitment, through a voluntary covenant, to provide further protection against inappropriate development. Taken together, these provisions mean that the land has a very high level of protection against inappropriate development as is possible within the current statutory framework.
The property is served by a number of adopted public footpaths including Saughall FP 1,4,7,15,16 & 17 which can be viewed using the Council’s mapping system. There are important obligations to preserve public rights of way, which apply irrespective of ownership. The buyer has also made a public commitment to preserve and enhance the public rights of way within the land.
The site of Shotwick Castle was acquired by the former County Council as part of the wider Shotwick Park Estate in 1930 and assigned to Cheshire West and Chester Council on its formation in 2009. The title is registered, and it is therefore included within the land that the Council is able to sell.
It is recorded as a scheduled monument and hence afforded the statutory protections that such monuments enjoy. Many scheduled monuments are on private land, and a change of ownership does not impact on these statutory protections.
While the planning system, public rights of way, ancient monument protections, and restrictive covenants, all provide significant protection against inappropriate development, there is no basis on which the owner of land can be compelled to implement positive environment improvements. Mr Greensill has, however, made important commitments to the local community, including publication of his intentions for environmental improvements. Subject to contract, the documentation will include reference to his intentions. However, we cannot legally guarantee that the buyer will implement the work. This is one of the reasons that we support positive engagement between the Parish Council and Mr Greensill, to build trust that his plans are deliverable.
Overage is commonly applied in land transactions to protect against unforeseeable events that might unreasonably financially benefit the buyer. It does not diminish the protections against inappropriate development of the land, and actually serves as an additional disincentive for the buyer to change the planning status of the land for financial benefit
There has been a continuing dialogue between officers of the Council and its tenants, and the sale is subject to such tenancies as exist at the date of completion. No tenancies have been ended prematurely.
In his initial presentation of his proposals in Summer 2019, Mr Greensill proposed that £500k would be gifted to the local community. In meeting its duty to secure best value for the sale of its assets, Cheshire West and Chester Council can only consider payments made to it directly, and any payments made to the local community have to be entirely separate. We understand that Mr Greensill has since stated that, since agreeing the price for the sale of the land, it is no longer possible for him to make a separate payment to the local community. This is a matter between the Parish and Mr Greensill, which cannot influence the sale process.
Cheshire West and Chester is the decision-maker, and the Parish does not have a veto in the sale of the land. However, the Council has consistently made clear its intention to progress this sale on the basis of the support of the local community and has regularly sought the views of the Parish Council and Borough Councillor. At the point of completion, Cheshire West and Chester Council will want to be satisfied that sufficient local support exists for the sale to proceed according to the decision made by its Cabinet in February 2021. If it does not, a further decision may need to be made by Cabinet to either continue or discontinue the sale.
Cheshire West and Chester Council has an established policy to sell its farms, securing a receipt for reinvestment in the borough, while also securing environmental and social benefits. Its policy is available online. The current proposal meets the objectives of this policy, securing a significant receipt while also delivering environmental improvements to the land. However, if there is not sufficient local support for a sale to this proposed buyer, and the Council’s Cabinet concludes that it should not therefore proceed, the Council would need to seek other solutions consistent with its established policy. No decision has been made for this scenario, although the general policy towards our farms would continue to apply. Options would include retaining the land in the council’s ownership for a period, or sale on the open market, potentially in a series of plots over a period of time.
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