Knowsley Council could sell Bowring Park for £1, says report

Bowring Park was one of the first municipal parks in the country

An historic park valued at nearly £1m could be sold for just £1, according to a council report.

Plans to sell the 123-year lease of Bowring Park and Golf Course in Huyton, Merseyside, to Oneday Ltd have been published by Knowsley Council.

According to the report, Oneday Ltd is already the park's managing agent.

The report said the local authority selling the lease for £1 would enable Oneday to invest £3.5m in renovation works, including a new play area.

A valuation carried out on behalf of the council has valued the park at just under £1m, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.

Bowring Park opened in 1906 as one of the first municipal parks in the country, later becoming home to the country's first municipal golf course.

'Cash injection'

In 2018, Mack Trading - which ran the golf course on behalf of the council - collapsed, leading to the park's temporary closure.

Knowsley Council continued to fund the park and golf course - at a cost of about £100,000 a year - until it invited tenders from organisations interested in running a concession at the site.

Oneday Ltd, set up in 2019, was chosen as the preferred managing agent and appointed in 2021.

The council said while Oneday was relatively new, those behind it were experienced in the leisure sector and would be able to bring in cash needed for renovation works.

Knowsley Council said the company would bring a £3.5m "cash injection" to "provide a new food and beverage offer, new children's play area, social enterprise incubator space, educational/training facilities for Myerscough College, a community event programme and significant improvements to the golf offer (including a new clubhouse)."

The park and golf course in Huyton has been valued at just under £1m

It later emerged Oneday had received a total of £535,000 in loans from Knowsley Council to enable it to carry out work at the site.

The report said Liverpool City Council - which owned the park until 1997, had first refusal to buy back the land for £1 in the event of Knowsley Council ever wanting to sell it.

According to the report, Liverpool City Council confirmed it had no wish to buy back the site.

A public consultation has also already taken place, it added.

A Knowsley Council spokesperson said: "The consultation has now been carried out and no objections were received with the council intent on moving on with the plans to hand over the lease.

"Completion of the lease with Oneday will be subject to further council approval and, once completed ,will safeguard the long-term future of Bowring Park and Golf Course, securing further investment for the benefit of residents and visitors."

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