Freedom of information (FOI) disclosure log
Date Sent: September 01, 2026
Conclusion: Released In Full
Description: I am writing to submit a focused request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regarding property asset management policies and precedents held by the Council. To ensure this request is easy to process, it is strictly limited to confirming structural facts regarding specific pre-existing records. Please provide the following information: 1. The Direct Route Precedent: Confirmation of whether the transaction involving the former library site sold to Sharlston Parish Council was processed as a direct commercial freehold purchase at a negotiated rate of approximately £65,000, specifically without the asset being put on the open market for competitive public bidding. 2. The Open-Market Lease Restriction: If an active recreation ground, specifically Townend Playing Field, Ackworth (Asset Ref: L/00235), proceeds under a signed 40-year lease agreement between the principal council and a parish tier, please confirm the Council's policy position: Does the existence of that binding lease framework legally preclude Ackworth Parish Council from later purchasing the freehold via a private, direct negotiated route, and would any future freehold sale instead require the land to be placed on the wide open market for competitive public bidding (unlike the direct route permitted for Sharlston)? 3. New Notice Procedures: Following the statutory public advertisement published in June 2026 regarding a 40-year lease framework for Townend Playing Field, if both councils mutually agreed to step down from the lease proposal prior to execution, is there any structural or legal reason why Wakefield Council could not publish a new statutory Section 123 public notice to advertise a direct freehold sale to Ackworth Parish Council instead, matching the off-market commercial route used in Sharlston? 4. Historical Specific Assets: Confirmation of whether a freehold interest or long-term management control was successfully transferred to local community bodies or parish councils for the following four sites listed on the council's localism register: • Standbridge Former School (Standbridge Lane Community Trust) • Horbury Community Centre • The Westfield Centre • Stanley Sharlston Community Centre Land.
Attachments: EIR_Response_901.doc