Council wins fight over 1930s golf club pavilion

The Pavillion in Oxhey has been at the centre of a legal dispute

A council has won a legal fight relating to the future of a 1930s building which began life as a golf course pavilion before becoming a pub.

Three Rivers District Council listed the Pavillion in Oxhey, Watford, as an “asset of community value” (ACV) - which gave local people a chance to buy it.

Pavillion (Watford) Ltd, which has owned the building for more than a decade, disputed the council’s decision.

However, a judge has now dismissed an appeal by the company after a hearing at a specialist tribunal.

'Frustrating'

Judge Joseph Neville heard, at a general regulatory chamber tribunal hearing in May, that the pub was closed for "for refurbishment" in 2018 and had not reopened.

In 2021, Watford Rural Parish Council nominated the Pavilion as an ACV.

Three Rivers District Council then listed the building as an ACV shortly afterwards.

Pavillion (Watford) Ltd asked Three Rivers District Council to reconsider.

Director Sunil Kotecha argued that the nomination was an "abuse" and had been "primarily directed at frustrating future development" rather than "affording the community an opportunity to purchase".

But in 2022, Three Rivers Three Rivers District Council's finance director, Alison Scott, upheld the listing.

Pavillion (Watford) then appealed to the tribunal.

Judge Neville dismissed the company's appeal after concluding that the pub was "validly nominated" and that the "review decision" was right.

What is an Asset of Community Value - ACV?

Judge Neville explained the meaning of an ACV in his ruling on the appeal:

• He indicated that ACV listings were made under the 1911 Localism Act

• Listing a building or land as an ACV meant that when it was put up for sale, a six-week period began and a community group could express an interest in putting together a bid to buy it in that time

• If a bid was made, a six-month "moratorium on sale" was triggered to give the time for a bid to be put together

• After a moratorium expires, the owner could sell to who they wanted

• The judge said there was no requirement to sell to a community group on any particular terms

Building timeline

• The Pavillion, an L-shaped two-storey building, was originally built in the 1930s as the pavilion for Oxhey Golf Course

• The golf club, which closed in 1952, had been acquired by Three Rivers council, and became the Oxhey Playing Fields

• In 1990, Three Rivers District Council granted a lease to Whitbread, which ran a pub

• Pavillion (Watford) Ltd bought the leasehold for £540,000 in 2013 and a tenant ran a pub from the site

• In late 2018, Pavillion (Watford) Ltd shut the pub "for refurbishment" and it had not reopened.