Decision

RESOLVED That Cabinet:

1. 1)           Recommended to Council that it approves the principle of a surrender of the existing Main Stadium Lease and Training Pitch Lease and the grant of a single replacement lease covering the whole operational holding occupied by Boreham Wood Football Club ("BWFC"), including the land required for associated stadium infrastructure, subject to agreement of detailed terms and the submission of a further report to Cabinet and Council for final approval.
2. 2)           Noted that detailed valuation, financial and commercial information is contained within the accompanying Part 2 report. 

Reasons for decision

The Club is currently undertaking redevelopment works at Meadow Park. Whilst the new stand itself is not located on reserved land, associated infrastructure required to support the redevelopment must be relocated onto land currently outside the existing lease demises. As a result, amendments to the existing lease arrangements will be required irrespective of the approach ultimately adopted. Request for Lease Consolidation On 20 August 2026, BWFC formally requested that the Council consider consolidating its existing leasehold interests at Meadow Park into a single lease arrangement. The Club advised that a consolidated lease would provide greater certainty over its occupational position, simplify the current lease structure and support future operational planning and investment in the site. The request aligns with officers' assessment that the existing lease arrangements no longer fully reflect the Club's operational occupation of the wider holding and that the amendments required to facilitate the current redevelopment works present an opportunity to regularise and rationalise the occupational arrangements through the grant of a single replacement lease. Appendix C contains a copy of BWFC's request and supporting rationale. Officers consider that the requirement to amend the existing lease arrangements presents an opportunity to rationalise the occupational structure across the site. A surrender and regrant of the existing leases would create a single occupational arrangement covering the whole operational holding, including the reserved land required for stadium infrastructure associated with the redevelopment works. A single replacement lease would simplify estate management, establish a consistent rent review mechanism and provide a clear long-term basis for occupation and management of the site. The existing leases are subject to differing rent review provisions and produce differing rental outcomes. Officers consider that these arrangements should be reviewed as part of the proposed negotiations. Further details are contained within Part 2. The existing lease arrangements contain fundamentally different rent review mechanisms. The Main Stadium Lease provides for five-yearly reviews based upon open market rental value and expressly contemplates consideration of community benefit when determining the rent payable. By contrast, the Training Pitch Lease contains an upward-only RPI-linked review mechanism that operates on a compounding basis and does not take account of market rental value, affordability or community benefit considerations. Whilst such a mechanism may have been considered appropriate when originally agreed, officers consider that it no longer represents a particularly effective or transparent basis for determining rent over the long term. Retention of that mechanism is likely to result in rental growth significantly in excess of market rent growth and could ultimately produce rental liabilities that are disproportionate to the value of the land being occupied. The existing lease arrangements include provisions reflecting the community benefits delivered by BWFC. The extent to which community benefits should be reflected in any future arrangement will be considered as part of the negotiations. The Council has obtained independent valuation advice in relation to the existing and proposed occupational arrangements. Officers are satisfied that the advice provides a robust basis for negotiations and demonstrates that the proposed approach is consistent with the Council's asset management objectives. Further details of the valuation advice are contained within Part 2 of this report.

Alternative Options Considered

As set out in the report.