Feedback from legal advice

Dear all,

Here is an update for you on the track project. 

Myself and another colleague from the track project met with a barrister about the potential of a judicial review from the same chamber that helped the Knowle Group with their Broadwalk planning issue. 

He checked all the documents thoroughly and advised that we cannot do a judicial review as legally nothing was done wrongly. How politicians behaved is not a matter for the Court. 

He informed us of the following:

On 9th March 2021, Marvin Rees gave authority to the Executive Director for Growth and Regeneration together with the Director of finance to approve the transfer and sale of any land in the pipeline for housing to be sold to Goram homes.. The director only had to refer to the Cabinet member for Housing for information purposes and not for a decision.

On 3rd March 2022, Cabinet (Marvin Rees) agreed to add Hengrove Park to the pipeline. Further report on 3rd March 2023 Cabinet with Labour Councillor Tom Renhard as Cabinet member for Housing confirmed the pipeline and to keep the same terms are agreed in 2021.

23rd September 2025 - Executive Director for Growth and Regeneration entered a 15 year option agreement with Goram for the purchase of the rest of Hengrove Park. 

Phase 1B had already been sold to Goram. Goram exercised the option for the track, Phase 8 on 29th January 2026 (a trigger that all parties should have known about) and on 10th March 2026 John Smith agreed to allow the option and the formal land sale took place 16th April 2026. 

So now control of the site is under Goram - even though Tony Dyer and Executive Director of Growth and Regeneration are the “shareholders” of Goram and thus control Goram.

 All strategic decisions taken by a Director under delegated authority are published as they are key decisions. All political parties have officers who check all these decisions once published. Labour confirmed to me (John) in an email that they check all the Key decisions when published. So obviously do the other parties.  

The decision taken on 10th March and published on 11th March was taken by John Smith under delegated authority as Exec Director. 

Tony Dyer said on 13th July that he had taken the decision but this is incorrect. 

We questioned Labour as to why they did not call in the decision on 11th March 2026 but Labour advised that they tried to do this but Legal Services ruling was that it could not be done as decision taken under delegated authority. 

We only have their word for it and I personally question whether this is correct as the decision notice clearly states that it can be called in and the barrister wondered why Labour had not done this in view of their motion.

ModernGov - bristol.gov.uk

So all parties knew from 11th March and said or did nothing. They all knew that the report sent to the Strategy and Resources Committee on 13th July would be a complete waste of time and effort.

 Worse is that officers kept playing the game as well. I had a meeting with John Smith before the 13th July to present the business proposal for the track. Nothing was mentioned about the sale.

The controlling parties Green and Lib Dem could have agreed to change the terms of the Mayoral decision from 2021 but obviously decided not to. 

They could have agreed to review the track proposal before selling the land. As they did nothing the 9th March decision 2021 was upheld. Labour was not that transparent either.

 As you will see from the recording on YouTube of the 13th July Strategy and Resources Committee, Tony Dyer that he said he was sorry about how the decision being made on same day as motion but that he was pleased that it had been made as he wants housing above all else.  

Noteworthy that Lib Dem deputy chair and Councillor for Whitchurch and Hengrove Park made no comment. 

Strangely the report in response to the motion which was presented to 13th July meeting did not mention that the site had been sold either!

 The whole charade by Councillors is a mockery of democracy and we hope via a press release that residents will see how deceitfully and dishonestly they have behaved over the last 12 months.

Politics has fallen to a new low.

We have reached the end of the “road” for the track project as no legal recourse and no support from politicians. 

A sad day for democracy and the end of a project that had so much potential.