There has been a flurry of news about Udney Park recently, not least its appearance in PMQs yesterday raised by Munira Wilson MP.

The current status is that the owner of the grounds, Leisure Focus, is backed by an individual called Mr Wu who has been sanctioned for various alleged crimes. As such, Udney Park is now a seized asset as Mr Wu is subject to UK government sanction whilst the investigations are ongoing, which puts it in an ongoing state of limbo.

We have sought specialist legal advice, and, on that basis, the club’s position remains that we will continue to train and play at Udney Park under our existing arrangements but have ringfenced our rent obligations to provide financial separation. We will continue to maintain the pitch areas for our club use including mid-week training and weekend rugby activities and keep the other areas in good shape as provided for in our lease.

We are also aware of reports regarding the ground’s wider usage and potential options that have been put forward by other interested parties including The Udney Park Community Fields Foundation (UPCFF). The UPCFF have been very vocal about getting the grounds back into community use and have been lobbying for a CPO with both Richmond council and Munira Wilson. We are in conversation with UPCFF and are aligned that a community solution needs to be found.

Despite the limbo state, we are proud that the ground is still being used for local community sport, but we are clear that this is a fraction of what the site could offer. Teddington RFC has played rugby in this part of the borough for 60 years with 10 years at Udney Park, and we know how much this site matters not only to our club but the wider community.

We will continue to engage with all appropriate parties to ensure that rugby and, when possible, community sport continue at the Udney Park Playing Fields.

If you have any questions regarding our ongoing operations at Udney Park, please direct them to myself (James Olsen club-secretary@teddingtonrfc.co.uk) or Simon Davis (club-chairman@teddingtonrfc.co.uk)