A strip of land at the edge of Lord's is still being disputed by MCC and a property developer.GETTY IMAGES
As England cricketers "prepare to step out at Lord's," there will be a "long-running wrangle rumbling away not far below their feet," according to Bill Wilson of the BBC. It is "a saga that stretches back nearly two decades" and involves a dispute over a "narrow strip of land at the edge of the historic complex" in north London known as "the home of cricket." The stretch of land, measuring 200m by 38m at the Nursery End of the Lord's site, "sits above disused Victorian railway tunnels." The area "has been at the heart of a tussle" between the ground's owner -- Marylebone Cricket Club -- and the owner of the lease on that strip of land, property developer Charles Rifkind. After "being frustrated by the MCC" in his plans to develop the site over the past two decades, Rifkind teamed up with property consortium New Commonwealth -- headed by developer entrepreneur Johnny Sandelson -- to "look at selling off portions of the land." Sandelson is now working with financial regulators "to get the all-clear to sell bits off in around nine months' time." Shares in the land will be sold via tokens called Lordscoins, which will be traded via blockchain technology. But "there is a catch." Although the MCC does not own the tunnels, or "any development rights to the land on top," it does have a sub-lease on the top 18 inches of the land -- which runs until 2137. That makes property development "impossible" for at least another 119 years. Rifkind's plans -- to build 94 flats on the space -- were rebuffed last year when MCC members voted for their own redevelopment scheme, or "Lord's Masterplan," for the ground (BBC, 8/8).
