Agenda and minutes

(1)                                  Members of the Panel visited the before the meeting.   The visit was also attended by Mr M J Whybrow (Local Member), representatives from Friends of Dymchurch Rec and some 60 members of the public. 

(2)       The Principal Legal Orders Officer began his presentation by saying that theCounty Councilhad receivedan applicationto registerland knownas Dymchurch Recreation Groundas anew Townor VillageGreen fromMs.Deana Coker on behalfof the Friendsof Dymchurch May 2017.  The applicationhad beenmade undersection15 ofthe CommonsAct 2006and the CommonsRegistration (England)Regulations2014.  It had been accompanied by 47user evidencequestionnaires in support.  

(3)       The Principal Legal Orders Officer then explained that Section15 ofthe CommonsAct 2006enabled anyperson toapplytoa Commons RegistrationAuthoritytoregister landas aVillageGreenwhere itcould be shown that “asignificant numberof theinhabitants of anylocality, orof any neighbourhoodwithin  a locality,have  indulgedas ofright  in  lawful sportsand pastimeson theland fora periodof at/east 20years.” The application also needed to have continued “asof right”until atleast thedate of applicationor to have endedno morethan oneyear priorto the dateof application.

(4)        The Principal Legal Orders Officer described thearea ofland subjectto theapplication asa recreationground ofapproximately 9.9acres (4 hectares)in size situatedoff St.Mary's Roadin thevillage of Dymchurch.Access tothe site wasvia ashared pedestrianand vehicular entrancefrom St.Mary's Road adjacent tothe Romney,Hythe andDymchurch railwayline.  Sectionsof theRecreation Ground(the northern comer andthe areaalong theeastern boundaryof thesite, includingthe pavilion had been excluded fromthe application siteat the applicant's request.The multi-user games areaon thewestern sideof thesite hasalso beenexcluded becauseit was affectedby planningconsent andtherefore incapableof registration.

(5)       The Principal Legal Orders Officer then said that the applicationsite wasowned byDymchurch ParishCouncil which had opposedthe application on the grounds that it would preclude the democraticright ofresidents toconsider anoption todevelop part of thesite forhousing inorder to raisefunds forimproved amenitiesin theparish.  The application site had originally been acquired by the Parish Council for the purpose of sport and recreation in the village and it continued to be used for that purpose.  A pavilion had been constructed in 1931 and had been used by football and cricket clubs as changing rooms until 2006. This use had ceased due to its decaying condition and the cost of adapting the building to meet current standards and legislative  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.