500 signatures reached
To: Mayor of London
Abolish the Park Charge in the Olympic Park
Remove the obligation to pay the Park Charge (a.k.a. Fixed Estate Charge) for leaseholders and house owners of Chobham Manor. The Olympic Park is a public park available to everyone to use and should be maintained with public funds.
Why is this important?
Leasehold and fleecehold are a kind of “home ownership” that allow for uncapped service charges, estate charges, ground rents and other additional charges to be imposed on leaseholders and fleeceholders. Although these charges appear to benefit management agencies, developers and private freeholders, it is also the public sector that utilises the pitfalls of leasehold law to benefit from charges imposed on leaseholders and fleeceholders.
The land on which the Olympic Park in East London sits and where the housing development Chobham Manor is built is owned by the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC). The LLDC is a Mayoral Development Corporation established in 2012 by the then Mayor of London Boris Johnson to manage and maintain the legacy of the Olympic Park after the 2012 London Olympic Games. The LLDC reports directly to the Greater London Authority (GLA) and to the Mayor of London.
Leasehold properties in Chobham Manor do not pay ground rent (peppercorn) but the LLDC levies a Park Charge (or Fixed Estate Charge) on all properties in Chobham Manor (including freehold - or fleecehold - houses). The Park Charge increases every year by RPI. It was Boris Johnson as Mayor of London that empowered the LLDC to levy the Park Charge.
The Park Charge is much worse than a ground rent: for example, in 2021/22 a 3-bed property pays £1,357.56 per annum towards the Park Charge. By way of comparison, the average ground rent for a 3-bed flat in the nearby areas is around £400 per annum. The Park Charge is intended to provide a funding stream to the LLDC for the maintenance of the Olympic Park. There are also plans to build four additional housing developments on land owned by the LLDC near the Olympic Park and all these properties will have to pay the Park Charge.
The Park Charge is an unfair extra charge that leaseholders and fleeceholders of Chobham Manor pay because:
1. It is much worse than a ground rent as it is much higher than a ground rent;
2. Chobham Manor residents receive no benefit whatsoever from the Park Charge. The Olympic Park is a public park available to everyone to use and should be maintained with public funds;
3. Residents of nearby areas have the exact same access to the Olympic Park and its facilities as the residents of Chobham Manor but pay no Park Charge;
4. Chobham Manor residents already contribute to the LLDC’s budget (via the GLA) as they also pay full Council Tax to Newham Council;
5. The Park Charge covers maintenance and security costs of the Olympic Park but Chobham Manor residents also pay separate Estate Charges for the same services within Chobham Manor. If Chobham Manor is part of the Olympic Park, the maintenance and security of Chobham Manor should be paid for by the Park Charge;
6. There is lack of transparency on how the Park Charge is spent by the LLDC. This makes it impossible to determine whether the costs incurred are reasonable;
7. The Park Charge can negatively affect the value of the properties, making them un-mortgageable and un-sellable;
8. There are a further 4 housing developments to be built on the LLDC’s land but there is no provision for the Park Charge to decrease as the number of properties paying for it increases;
9. There is lack of transparency on the future of the LLDC, which is meant to be dissolved in 2025. What will happen to both the land on which Chobham Manor is built and the Park Charge once the LLDC is dissolved? Will the land be sold to a private investor? Or will the leaseholders at Chobham Manor be given the Right of First Refusal? Who will be maintaining the Olympic Park? Will the councils that share the Olympic Park become responsible for its maintenance? What will happen to the Park Charge? Will it cease to exist?
As it was a Mayor of London who empowered the LLDC to levy the Park Charge, the Mayor of London has the power to tell the LLDC to abolish the Park Charge. The current Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has spoken publicly in support of the Leasehold Reform on numerous occasions. For example, on the 22 January 2021, he said: “too many leaseholders continue to face unfair extra costs that increase stress for themselves and their families.” Furthermore, in his Manifesto for the 2021 London Mayoral Election, he says: “I’ll work to ensure London leads the way in ending the leasehold scandal […] to end ground rent on GLA land. [...] I’ll also work with council and housing association landlords across London to reduce the charges leaseholders face."
What about the Park Charge? The goal of this campaign is to petition the Mayor of London to abolish the Park Charge for Chobham Manor (and all other developments to be built on LLDC’s land). The maintenance of a public park has to be funded by public money and not by levying an extra charge to a group of leaseholders and house owners.
The land on which the Olympic Park in East London sits and where the housing development Chobham Manor is built is owned by the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC). The LLDC is a Mayoral Development Corporation established in 2012 by the then Mayor of London Boris Johnson to manage and maintain the legacy of the Olympic Park after the 2012 London Olympic Games. The LLDC reports directly to the Greater London Authority (GLA) and to the Mayor of London.
Leasehold properties in Chobham Manor do not pay ground rent (peppercorn) but the LLDC levies a Park Charge (or Fixed Estate Charge) on all properties in Chobham Manor (including freehold - or fleecehold - houses). The Park Charge increases every year by RPI. It was Boris Johnson as Mayor of London that empowered the LLDC to levy the Park Charge.
The Park Charge is much worse than a ground rent: for example, in 2021/22 a 3-bed property pays £1,357.56 per annum towards the Park Charge. By way of comparison, the average ground rent for a 3-bed flat in the nearby areas is around £400 per annum. The Park Charge is intended to provide a funding stream to the LLDC for the maintenance of the Olympic Park. There are also plans to build four additional housing developments on land owned by the LLDC near the Olympic Park and all these properties will have to pay the Park Charge.
The Park Charge is an unfair extra charge that leaseholders and fleeceholders of Chobham Manor pay because:
1. It is much worse than a ground rent as it is much higher than a ground rent;
2. Chobham Manor residents receive no benefit whatsoever from the Park Charge. The Olympic Park is a public park available to everyone to use and should be maintained with public funds;
3. Residents of nearby areas have the exact same access to the Olympic Park and its facilities as the residents of Chobham Manor but pay no Park Charge;
4. Chobham Manor residents already contribute to the LLDC’s budget (via the GLA) as they also pay full Council Tax to Newham Council;
5. The Park Charge covers maintenance and security costs of the Olympic Park but Chobham Manor residents also pay separate Estate Charges for the same services within Chobham Manor. If Chobham Manor is part of the Olympic Park, the maintenance and security of Chobham Manor should be paid for by the Park Charge;
6. There is lack of transparency on how the Park Charge is spent by the LLDC. This makes it impossible to determine whether the costs incurred are reasonable;
7. The Park Charge can negatively affect the value of the properties, making them un-mortgageable and un-sellable;
8. There are a further 4 housing developments to be built on the LLDC’s land but there is no provision for the Park Charge to decrease as the number of properties paying for it increases;
9. There is lack of transparency on the future of the LLDC, which is meant to be dissolved in 2025. What will happen to both the land on which Chobham Manor is built and the Park Charge once the LLDC is dissolved? Will the land be sold to a private investor? Or will the leaseholders at Chobham Manor be given the Right of First Refusal? Who will be maintaining the Olympic Park? Will the councils that share the Olympic Park become responsible for its maintenance? What will happen to the Park Charge? Will it cease to exist?
As it was a Mayor of London who empowered the LLDC to levy the Park Charge, the Mayor of London has the power to tell the LLDC to abolish the Park Charge. The current Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has spoken publicly in support of the Leasehold Reform on numerous occasions. For example, on the 22 January 2021, he said: “too many leaseholders continue to face unfair extra costs that increase stress for themselves and their families.” Furthermore, in his Manifesto for the 2021 London Mayoral Election, he says: “I’ll work to ensure London leads the way in ending the leasehold scandal […] to end ground rent on GLA land. [...] I’ll also work with council and housing association landlords across London to reduce the charges leaseholders face."
What about the Park Charge? The goal of this campaign is to petition the Mayor of London to abolish the Park Charge for Chobham Manor (and all other developments to be built on LLDC’s land). The maintenance of a public park has to be funded by public money and not by levying an extra charge to a group of leaseholders and house owners.
