05:12PM, Wednesday 04 February 2026
Home Park (Image credit: Google Maps)
The Royal Borough has dismissed calls from a cross-party group of councillors for more scrutiny around a decision to have the Crown Estate take over the management of Windsor’s Home Park.
Last week, Royal Borough cabinet members agreed to terminate its licences for the park, as well as the Home Park, King Edward VII and Romney Lock car parks associated with it.
The Crown Estate is due to take over the management of Home Park, including the car parks, from April 1.
At the cabinet meeting, councillors heard the cash-strapped Royal Borough ‘cannot justify’ a business case to spend money on improving the ‘neglected’ park when it does not have security of tenure over the land.
In response, a group of cross-party councillors signed a joint letter calling on the Royal Borough to bring its Home Park decision back to the corporate overview and scrutiny panel for further review.
Signatories included Cllr Jack Douglas (Ind), Cllr Mark Howard (Lib Dem), Cllr David Buckley (Reform), Cllr Sally Coneron (Con), Cllr Wisdom Da Costa (Ind), Cllr Asghar Majeed (Con), Cllr Carole Da Costa (Ind), and Cllr Alison Carpenter (TBFI).
The council however rejected the call-in, with its response to councillors shared by Cllr Douglas on social media yesterday (February 3).
The call-in letter argued there was ‘insufficient pre-decision scrutiny’, with a place overview and scrutiny panel meeting happening the day before cabinet.
It added that councillors were not given any ‘valuation or long-term financial modelling’ despite the ‘permanent loss of a significant income stream’.
But a Royal Borough spokesperson said the scrutiny process was done ‘in accordance with constitutional requirements’.
Responding to the letter, the spokesperson said: “The Royal Borough has secured a major investment in the long‑term future of Home Park.
“This will not only protect and enhance an important local asset enjoyed by thousands of residents but also delivers substantial improvements while significantly reducing financial risk for the council.”
The cabinet decision was informed by ‘clear legal and financial advice’, with a ‘transparent comparison’ of the available options, the spokesperson added.
The Royal Borough will lose revenue income coming in from Home Park following the termination of the licences. For the first year, this will be offset by a one-off £600,000 payment from the Crown Estate.
The cabinet report set out that the ongoing annual revenue loss for RBWM would be £450,000.
But Cllr Howard told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “There seems to be a lot of money at stake and it’s involving a major asset for anybody, whether it’s the Crown’s or the council’s.
“I didn’t feel that [the decision] had been discussed with enough detail, and I didn’t feel there was a complete explanation about the positives and the negatives of the approach.
“It seemed quiet rushed and not very overt.
“It doesn’t seem to be a very sensible decision to give up a large amount of revenue when you don’t need to, especially when a council is in such financial strain as RBWM so I would like to understand it more.”
He added that even if the decision to terminate the licences remains, ‘making the explanation clearer’ would be a ‘really good idea’.
The Royal Borough spokesperson added the cabinet decision was informed by advice including ‘the Crown Estate’s statutory obligations, the council’s liabilities under the existing licence arrangements’, and ‘the ‘risks associated with revoking the license without compensation’.
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