Land Referencing 
Asset due diligence 
Planning and Environmental 
Land Assembly 
Valuation & Professional Services 
Compulsory Purchase Advice 
Business Case Development 
Funding Models and Value Capture 
Rail Industry Agreements 
Local Government 
Highways & Active Travel 
Renewables 
Healthcare 
Utilities 
Rail & Mass Transit 
SLC Property’s Susan Fisher and Huon Campbell visited Wivenhoe on Friday, 1 May for the official opening of the Wivenhoe Library of Things.
The Wivenhoe Library of Things is a volunteer-run organisation that enables local people to borrow useful household and leisure items at low cost. Its collection includes garden tools, home cleaning and maintenance equipment, musical instruments, fancy dress costumes and even a karaoke machine!
The initiative is breathing new life into a previously underused railway building, creating a valuable community resource in the heart of Wivenhoe. Bringing the project to life, however, required specialist support to navigate complex property and legal agreements – which is when we stepped in!
As a corporate partner of the Community Rail Network, we were linked up with the Wivenhoe Library of Things to provide pro bono support each year to help community groups access professional expertise that might otherwise be unavailable.
We supported the project by:
• Securing change-of-use planning consent
• Negotiating the lease for the premises
• Arranging pro bono legal advice from Addleshaw Goddard
Huon Campbell said: “The Wivenhoe Library of Things is a great idea and it’s brilliant to see railway properties that were previously semi-derelict and boarded up being brought back into use. Supporting these types of agreements is our area of expertise and we always enjoy using our knowledge to help Community Rail Network projects that might not otherwise happen.”
Liam O’Brien, Executive Director of the Wivenhoe Library of Things said: “The Wivenhoe Library of Things is a volunteer-led organisation, and none of us had the legal understanding on how to navigate leasing a disused station property. SLC Property guided us through the process, from a change of use, to agreeing a 25 year lease. Now the building, once falling apart, is now a spruced up community hub that we can operate from for years to come.”
More information is available at: https://wivenhoe.libraryofthings.co.uk/catalogue/browse
