I sent a mail to the Whitgift Foundation saying some residents wanted to have a meeting about the covenants I received a reply from Helen Gough suggesting we had a chat. So I called.
I said that we, the residents of the Croham Park Estate (the land sold by the Whitgift Foundation to Donald Young in October 1905 comprising Castlemaine, Melville, Pilgrims Way and the parts of Coombe and Croham between them);
– were aware of the restrictive covenants on the land
– believed them to be still relevant as the nature of the core of the estate has not changed significantly.
– would like any purchaser to take into account our views whilst making plans for the site.
– we were happy to be relatively flexible.
Helen said the following;
– the WF had taken extensive legal advice regarding the covenant without giving any indication as to what that advice was.
– our concerns would be passed onto any potential buyers of the site and she was sure they would want to get in contact in due course.
– in fairness to remaining pupils the marketing of the site will only progress after the Summer Term finishes
– the main outcome for the WH was to maximise the benefit for the WF, this was not necessarily the same as maximising sale proceeds.
– they had not ruled out selling to another educational organisation
Helen said that the WF were logging all interaction with interested parties. She gave an example of a call to the WF expressing concern about the retention of the stained glass windows in one of the buildings.
I I propose we do nothing more for now (except to ask the Council for TPOs). The WH knows we are concerned and are aware of the covenants. They will pass on our concerns to any purchaser.
