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Groby Village Green application fails
You can read the full report of the Inspector by following this link.
Groby Parish Council has decided not to appeal the decision that the land owned by Bloors next to the village cemetery should not be registered as a Village Green. This follows the recommendation given to the Development Control and Regulatory Board at Leicestershire County Council on September 22nd. The meeting considered the report of the County Solicitor which explained the procedure that had been followed. Although the County Solicitor has delegated power to act in all matters on behalf of the County Council as Registration Authority it was considered appropriate, in view of the sensitive nature of the Application, that the decision should be made by the Board.
The County Solicitor's report
"The Inspector considered the Applicant’s case which consisted of the evidence of one witness who gave oral evidence at the inquiry, and 20 letters and evidence forms for the Applicant whose evidence is set out in his Report and its Submission,” reported the County Solicitor. “The evidence of use was mainly of walking, dog walking, and children’s play. The evidence is detailed in his Report.”
“The Objector’s case consisted of the evidence of 8 witnesses and 3 loose leaf binders of evidence, and argued that Land was not used by a significant number during the whole or indeed in any part of the 20-year period ending March/April 2009 and the use claimed therefore did not endure during the relevant 20 years."
The County Solicitor added that the Inspector "recommends that as there was not a significant use by the residents of the locality of Groby by ‘a very wide margin’ and ‘fell very far short’ for the whole of the 20 year period, and that the Application should be rejected.
Public apathy
The Inspection of the application was conducted by Mr Alun Alesbury, MA., Barrister at Law. One oral submission was made at the hearing about the recreational use of the land by residents, and this was supported by 20 further written statements. They were not enough to persuade the Inspector, who commented on the 'paucity and questionable quality of most of the Applicant's evidence'.
Those who took time to make submissions may take exception to his description of the quality of the evidence but would probably not disagree with the paucity remark. The Parish Council was disappointed that so few residents came forward with evidence of their use of the land over the years, and at the October Parish Council meeting it was said that the information gathering exercise was met with public apathy in Groby.
The Inspector thought that even taking account of the oral evidence the submissions did not establish that the level and type of local public use was 'as of right' by significant numbers of local inhabitants, as opposed to sporadic and fairly isolated acts of trespass.
He regarded it as significant that in 2007 Groby Parish Council was advocating that part of the Application Site should be given over to the development of affordable housing and that the professionally prepared objections to Bloors' application to develop the whole site for housing made no reference to the site being an open area of open land on which local people had acquired, or long exercised recreational rights. He accepted, however, that the Council had not even thought about the question of a possible Commons Act claim until the Parish Clerk researched the subject following comments from local people picked up during the planning objection process.
In summing up all the submissions the Inspector concluded with one of his extra length sentences. “As a matter of judgement I would observe that all this history appears to me much more consistent with there being a widespread view among local people that (on planning grounds) they do not want to see development on this field, and would much rather see it in active agricultural use, rather than there being a general local perception that this was an open area which had long been available for recreation, which local people were actively concerned not to lose. This present Commons Act application is not of course concerned in any way with what ought to be the future status of this land in planning terms.”
The Parish Council decision
In making it's decision not to appeal the Parish Council took into account the poor response for evidence when the application was being prepared and had to consider whether more publicity would generate sufficient additional high quality evidence. Most members thought that it would not. Another consideration was that within the next two years there will almost certainly be a further planning application from the builder to develop the site and this will require the mobilisation of public opinion once again to oppose it. A further, and possibly unsuccessful appeal against the Village Green decision, might result in what could be described as appeal fatigue by the time objections to any further building proposals are needed. On balance it seemed better to focus the efforts of the Parish Council on opposing any unsuitable future proposals for the land. October 2011
The Government has announced a consultation on proposals to reform the system for registering new town or village greens under section 15 of the Commons Act 2006. "The volume of applications to register new greens, the character of application sites, the controversy which such applications often attract, the cost of the determination process on the parties affected, and the impact of a successful registration on the landowner, are all giving rise to increasing concern," explained the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
There is no intention to review sites already registered and the consultation should not affect the registration application made by Groby Parish Council in respect of land next to the cemetery opposite Groby Community College. This has already been the subject of an inquiry with the registration contested by Bloors who were refused planning permission for a housing development on the land.
Improved regulatory balance
The Government has said that it wants to achieve an improved regulatory balance between protecting high quality green space valued by local communities and enabling the right development to occur in the right place at the right time. It also seeks to reduce the burden on local authorities which are responsible for implementing it, and on landowners who are affected by applications. The consultation is aimed at landowners, developers, local authorities, those involved in the registration process and people and community organisations who are concerned about green spaces.
The consultation documents explain that provision was made under the Commons Registration Act 1965 to register land which became a town or village green after 1970. Few applications were made until the late 1990s, but the number in England has now risen to 200 per annum. The volume of applications, the character of application sites, the cost of the determination process on the parties affected, and the impact of a successful registration on the landowner, now merit a review of the system, the Government argues. It believes the registration system is being widely used to oppose development of land where planning permission has been sought or granted, adding that the costs in such cases outweigh the benefits, and arise from a failure of the existing regulatory process which can only be resolved by Government intervention.
A better balance
The objective is to reform the town and village green registration system to effect a better balance between
protecting high quality green space valued by local communities and enabling legitimate development to
occur where it is most appropriate. The Government also wishes to improve the operation of the current
registration system for all involved, reducing the burden on local authorities which are responsible for
implementing it, and on landowners. It says that reform is intended to deliver a system which discourages applications
for, and excludes from registration, sites which fail to deliver net benefits, and which reduces the costs for
both local authorities and landowners while continuing to allow the registration of greens where justified by
the net benefits.
For and against
The Country land and Business Association has lobbied for reform of the registration of new village greens since 2006 and asked for a consultation to be brought forward through the Localism Bill. It argues the criteria for registering town and village greens are used to try to stop much-needed housing development in rural areas even after planning permission has been granted, or after affordable homes have been built.
CLA President William Worsley said: "If an area of land is designated as a town or village green, any development on it is prohibited, despite any grant of planning permission. It is important that genuine applications for village green registrations succeed, but too often spurious applications are made which frustrate the planning system and stifle much needed development."
The Open Spaces Society, which has over 2,300 members throughout England and Wales, is disappointed with the tone and content of the consultation. "The basis for the consultation, that there is an abuse of the legislation, is contrary to research provided to Defra in 2009 which found no evidence that the current system is flawed," said Nicola Hodgson. "The stated aim of the consultation is to 'effect a better balance between protecting high-quality green space valued by local communities and enabling legitimate development to occur where it is most appropriate'. This appears to undermine the system which allows registration of local people’s rights to use land for lawful sports and pastimes when they have used it for over 20 years. We are dismayed that Defra’s options include introducing an additional character test on top of the existing requirements, charging a fee and excluding any land proposed for development."
She added that the Society had already submitted to ministers proposals for limited changes to the guidance and regulations to speed up and improve the registration process, and that the OSS will continue to argue that there is no case for major reform which would be contrary to the public interest.
The consultation will end on 17 October 2011. Further details about the proposals and how to comment can be found at http://www.defra.gov.uk/consult/2011/07/25/town-village-greens or by following the link from www.grobyonline.tk.
Aug2011
September 2011 update - a decision will be made on Sept 22 (see Home Page).
A planning application in 2009 by Bloor Homes to build 133 houses was refused by Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council following an unprecedented joint Groby and Ratby community campaign. More than 1800 objections against the application were sent to Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council. The land, which is next to Groby cemetery, is considered a valuable and strategic part of the designated Green Wedge between Groby and Ratby.
The site is currently the subject of an Appeal by Bloor Homes against the refusal of the application and an Appeal, which is open to the public, was scheduled to be heard in the Council Chamber at Hinckley commencing on Tuesday 12th October 2010.
Green wedge
Both Groby and Ratby Parish Councils are committed to the fight to preserve this valuable and attractive wooded meadow that is considered an important landscape feature in the designated Green Wedge between Groby and Ratby. As a result Groby Parish Council is taking the unusual step of applying for Village Green status to be granted on the land. If the Parish Council’s application is granted the land, which actually lies in Ratby but is situated next to the Groby Parish Council cemetery and the Groby Parish boundary, will be protected from development.
Cllr. Batty, Chairman of Groby Parish Council, said the land has been open without challenge for many years to the local communities, young and old, of both Groby and Ratby to enjoy for a wide range of leisure and recreational pastimes. He said that being part of the designated Green Wedge it should be preserved for future generations rather than being developed for more yet more new houses that local people do not want, adding that there is also no evidence of need. To succeed with the application Groby Parish Council will need to provide evidence that the land has been freely used for lawful recreational activities and pastimes for a period of 20 years or more.
Local knowledge important
"The Parish Council needs local people who have regularly used or have relevant knowledge of the land to come forward," explained Groby Parish Clerk, Jack Fargher. "We need as much evidence of use and local information as possible relating to the history of the site, photographs would be particularly helpful." Anything that can be classed at "leisure" or "Sport" or Pastimes" would be helpful and this could include activities such as kite flying, dog walking, horse riding (after the stables closed), camping, picnicking, just walking about or picking blackberries etc
Mr. Fargher goes on to say that information about the ecology of the site would also be helpful and invites local people to contact him on 0116 287 6985 or by email: parishclerk@groby.com.