Guest blog, by Philip Grant in a personal capacity:
A year ago, I wrote a guest blog which urged readers to go and see three tile mural scenes at Olympic Way in Wembley Park while they still had the opportunity. This also highlighted the possibility, mentioned in an email I had received from Quintain, that the “footballers” mural scene in the subway might still be covered up on occasions.
The “footballers” mural last week (on my way to get
first Covid-19 jab!)
I raised that question in an email to Brent’s Chief Executive and Council Leader on 16 February 2020, saying:
‘This "footballers" mural was meant to have been put back on permanent public display last autumn. The prospect of it being covered over with adverts again, particularly when England are playing at Wembley Stadium during the UEFA 2020 tournament, should be unthinkable!
I hope that Brent Council will do all within its power to ensure that the "footballers" mural, which includes the plaque unveiled by Bobby Moore's widow in September 1993, remains uncovered, particularly during England's UEFA 2020 matches at the Stadium this summer.’
A letter from Carolyn Downs on 2 March told me that 'the lease does provide Wembley Park with the scope to cover the footballers mural with advertisement dressing at certain points during the year, should a commercial opportunity arise.' I responded by telling her that although the lease might say that, the 2019 advertising consent did not allow the footballers mural to be covered.
Ms Downs passed my reply to the Council’s Operational Director (Regeneration, Growth and Employment) to deal with. I explained in detail to this officer why the various planning and advertisement consent decisions did not allow adverts over the footballers mural. Her response was curt:
‘We have already set out our position on this. We disagree. I do not therefore intend to continue this dialogue.’
By that stage (23 March 2020) the country had just gone into its first Covid-19 pandemic “lockdown”. I decided not to raise a formal complaint, as Brent’s Chief Executive had more important things to deal with. I put this issue “on hold”, saying:
‘'I will not pursue the point in this correspondence now, but may return to it once we are through the current emergency.'
One of the reasons why I have been campaigning, with fellow Wembley History Society members and others, to get all of the Bobby Moore Bridge tile murals put back on permanent public display is this. They are a colourful celebration of Wembley’s sporting and entertainment heritage, specially installed in 1993 as a work of public art welcoming visitors to Wembley Park.
2023 will mark the centenary of Wembley Stadium, and the 75th anniversary of the 1948 London Olympic Games, for which Olympic Way was constructed. What better way to mark those milestones than to let residents and visitors enjoy those murals again? After all, the Council had (finally!) recognised the importance of ‘the heritage tiles at Wembley Park’s Bobby Moore Bridge’ at the start of Brent’s year as London Borough of Culture 2020, saying:
‘The tiles, which show scenes from famous sports and entertainment events at Wembley Stadium and the SSE Arena, Wembley, are part of Brent’s rich heritage and date back to September 1993 when they were originally dedicated to the legendary footballer.’
Cllr. Butt, the Mayor and other
guests at the LBOC 2020 tile murals reveal, 18 January 2020.
[Photo by Francis Waddington]
I was hoping to persuade Brent’s Cabinet, when the Bobby Moore Bridge advertising lease came up for renewal later this year, to consider the option of only allowing advertising on the large display panels on the bridge parapets. This would give the opportunity to remove the light boxes currently covering most of the mural scenes in the subway, possibly using some of the CIL funds which the Council is sitting on to fund that work.
I wrote to Brent’s Chief Executive on 4 January, setting out my suggestions for how the Council could go about this, so that Cabinet members could be given a choice of options when the lease came up for renewal in 2021. You can imagine my surprise, and disappointment, when I received the this reply from Ms Downs the following day:
‘The lease for Bobby Moore Bridge was recommended for a three year extension from 30 August 2021 and expires on 30 August 2024. This was completed in November 2019 after market appraisal was carried out by an independent advertising consultant who recommended the lease extension on the basis of market conditions at the time and the leaseholder’s ambitions to refurbish the area and upgrade the panels to digital screens.’
It didn’t appear that the Cabinet had approved this, so how did it come about, who authorised the lease extension, and what authority did they have to do so? I submitted a Freedom of Information Act request, and while I have yet to receive all the items I asked for, I have received redacted copies of three documents.
One document is a “Delegated Authority Report”, prepared by Brent’s Property Services team. Addressed to the Operational Director (Property and Assets), it includes the claim:
‘The Borough Solicitor has confirmed that pursuant to the Council’s New Constitution Part 4, paragraph 4.3 you have the delegated authority to approve of this letting.’
[The Borough Solicitor? – Were they using a very old template?] I have yet to receive the supporting evidence for that claim, so cannot comment yet on whether the approval of the lease extension was valid. I would mention, however, that the section of Brent’s Constitution included in the Report to justify that authority begins with the words: ‘Only the Strategic Director Resources may acquire or dispose of an interest in land or buildings’!
The Deed of Variation itself raised the biggest concern, particularly one new clause which it added to the terms of the original lease. I apologise for the poor quality of this copy of it, but this is the best I could prepare from the document supplied to me:
The new clause 10.3 in the Bobby Moore Bridge advertising lease.
The “Tile Mural” that this clause applies to is ‘the 9.4 metre tile football mural on the east side of the walls under the Bridge’. In other words, the “footballers” mural that was supposed to be put back on permanent public display in 2019! Yet here in an agreement entered into by Brent Council they are saying that ‘the Tenant’ (Quintain’s Wembley Park Ltd subsidiary) is entitled to cover it up, on many “event days” during the year, up until August 2024.
I have written to Carolyn Downs, and Brent’s Chief Legal Officer, to tell them that this clause in the lease is unlawful.
‘It purports to entitle the Tenant to cover 'the Tile Mural' on a substantial number of days of each year.
However, on 28 November 2019, when the Deed was signed, it was already
the case that the Tenant's advertising consent did not include
consent to cover that "Footballers" mural scene with advertisements.
That clause is therefore invalid or void, because it purports to give an
entitlement which at the time was, and still is, unlawful.
Alternatively, if that clause is considered valid, it is inoperable, because the Tenant does not have the Necessary Consent, required by the lease, to cover that mural with advertisements.
This is a legal matter which needs to be resolved now, before the resumption of events at Wembley Stadium which may lead Quintain / Wembley Park Ltd to unlawfully arrange for advertising which covers that mural, in the false belief that the lease entitles them to do so.’
I will ask Martin to include my “legal argument” document at the end of this
article, if possible, so that it is in the public domain and anyone can read,
and refer to it, if they wish to do so. If
you are studying law, you might like to use it as a practical exercise, to see
what you think of the merits of Brent’s case and my answer to it. If you do
that, please feel free to give your “legal opinion” as a comment below!
I have issued my challenge to Brent over this issue (politely and respectfully, of course):
‘I would ask you, please, to ensure that the position I have set out in the attached document is examined promptly by the Council's legal officers; and that if I am wrong, they explain to me why that is so.
If I am correct, as I strongly believe that I am, then they should acknowledge this, and take action to ensure that Quintain / Wembley Park Ltd is informed that they are NOT entitled to display advertisements covering the "Footballers" mural on the east wall of the Bobby Moore Bridge subway.’
One positive variation of the lease, introduced by the November 2019 Deed, was
clause 10.4. This dealt with the “Tiling on East Wall” of Olympic Way, the
three mural scenes showing American Football, Rugby League and Ice Hockey which
were “revealed” for a few weeks in January and February 2020. It gave ‘the
Landlord’ (Brent Council) the right to request that these be revealed (that is,
put back on public display) for up to 21 days each calendar year.
The East Wall tile murals at Olympic Way, February 2020. [Photo by Mark Price]
I have written to ask whether Brent has made a request for these mural scenes to be “revealed” for three weeks during 2021, and if so, between which dates. You can be sure that if I get news of them being on public display, I will let you know!
For the moment, though, I want to make sure that the one mural scene our efforts over the past three years have managed to get put back on permanent public display, is not unlawfully covered up. And unlawfully covered up by a deal that was concealed from public scrutiny.
Philip Grant.
The Legal Argument (Click bottom right for full page version)
