In the first parliamentary inquiry into the Crown Estate in 20 years, MPs have raised concerns over its handling of investigations into the proposed sale of four of its London residential estates.
In the House of Commons Treasury Committee report, published today, it recommended the Crown Estate Commissioners review their consultation processes following an “apparent failure to consult local organisations with rights to nominate key workers”.
The committee also recommends that they engage more fully with key public bodies in London about future plans for their London portfolio.
The Commissioners’ management of the estate’s marine and urban environment was also criticised in the 82-page report. The committee expressed concern that they were placing more emphasis on revenue rather than long-term development.
The report also reveals that the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, Sarah McCarthy-Fry, is to launch a review of the Crown Estate’s monopoly position in the marine environment.
The committee noted “with alarm” the Crown Estate’s recent involvement in joint ventures, particularly the Gibraltar Limited Partnership, and recommended that the Treasury review whether such involvement is “compatible” with the constraints listed in the Crown Estate Act 1961 which restrict the organisation from borrowing.
The MPs concluded by urging the Crown Estate to be more flexible in accommodating wider public interests. However, they also criticised the Government for taking too narrow a view of the scope it has to advise the estate on the extent to which it ought to take wider public interests into account.
Crown Estate chief executive, Roger Bright, said: “We welcome the committee’s recognition that we run a successful business operation.
“The committee has also made a number of recommendations relating to our role in respect of the wider public interest; we have always taken that aspect of our role very seriously and we will study carefully the committee’s various recommendations in consultation with the Treasury.”
bridget.o’connell@estatesgazette.com
