joanna bourke
The chairman of Lord’s owner Marylebone Cricket Club is being asked to step down as a result of failed plans for the redevelopment of the ground.
An open letter from MCC members to Oliver Stocken calls for him to resign at next week’s AGM. They believe Stocken is attempting to railroad the club into ending all plans for the development.
Mike Hussey’s Almacantar had been selected to bring forward a £400m residential redevelopment around Lord’s, but had its plans dismissed in December.
The letter reveals that while members had concerns over the scale of the scheme proposed by Almacantar, they believe residential development on the club’s leasehold land offers “many significant benefits”.
It says: “We are convinced that the proposed resolution (to not permit any residential development on the leasehold land at the Nursery end of the ground) is wrong, and that all development options should be kept fully open.”
Members are also demanding an explanation of why the plans were halted so abruptly and how costs were able to reach £3m.
“It is clear that plans to develop on leasehold land had become embroiled in issues aroundpersonalities,” they write.
Member Nick Gandon said: “It was a great surprise in December when all of a sudden we heard Almacantar’s plans were not happening. What was a surprise is that a process had begun and suddenly halted.”
He added: “We want some accountability from those at the MCC who have severely mismanaged the whole process.”
A club spokesman said: “We will be producing a masterplan and will be developing Lord’s cricket ground. The resolution at next week’s AGM deals entirely with residential buildings on our leasehold land only.”
Last week, lawyers for Almacantar filed a letter before claim to the MCC in a bid to recover costs on the project, which are rumoured to be as much as £2m.
Interview, page 64
