The NPRA has recently submitted an ACV (Asset of Community Value) application to Nottingham City Council relating to the area known as The Park Bowl. ACV status is something created by the Government in 2011, allowing people to register sites or buildings that contribute or have contributed to the social wellbeing of the local community. This includes cultural, recreational and sporting uses. You can read more about this on the Government’s web site here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/assets-of-community-value-policy-statement–2
ACV status provides a safeguard for a local community in the event of an amenity valued by local people being at risk.
Although The Park already has various additional levels of protection, including its Conservation Area status and the Park Plan, these sorts of protections may not always be inviolable, and it was decided that ACVs might be worth applying for on certain sites.
The decision to apply for ACV status for the Park Bowl was prompted by the site owner asking if the NPRA would be interested in purchasing or taking on the lease for the middle part of the site, which until recently was leased by Active Ace for tennis and sports coaching. Those with long memories will remember a similar situation arose around ten years ago, when the future of the site was uncertain for some time, after the EBA bowling club ended their long standing use of that site. Being potentially back in the same position again prompted the NPRA to look at all the options available to secure the future of The Bowl in general for use by the community, and reduce the risk of it coming under the control of some other party over whom we would have little influence.
The ACV application is supported by details of existing and recent community use, and includes a map with some suggestions for how this site and the rest of The Bowl could potentially be used were it to become available. They are clearly suggestions, not decisions. The whole point of seeking greater control is to be in a position where we could decide what we might want to use the sites for should the opportunity arise, so nothing could or would happen without full consultation with Park residents, and no doubt some considerable fund raising activities. The application can be viewed here:
https://publicaccess.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=R5K2SULY01B00&activeTab=summary
Reference: 22/00062/ASCMVL
Request for the Park Bowl to be included on the List of Assets of Community Value. The Park Bowl – Tattershall Drive, Nottingham, NG7 1BX
We will update this information when the City Council has considered our ACV application, or if there are other developments to report. Meanwhile, if residents think there are other sites in The Park that may benefit from ACV status, please let us know.
