Agenda and minutes

Councillor Chris Morley (Kennington Community Council), Councillor Diccon Spain (Kennington Community Council), Mr Daniel Kozelko (Barrister), Ms Sibel Ucur and Mr Paul Bartlett were in attendance for this item.

1.          The Public Rights of Way and Commons Registration Officer introduced the report and said that the Council had received an application to register an area of land at Bybrook Road at Kennington as a new Town or Village Green from Kennington Community Council.  The application had been made under Section 15 of the Commons Act 2006 which enabled any person to apply to a Commons Registration Authority to register land as a village green where it can be shown that a significant number of inhabitants had indulged as of right in lawful sports and pastimes on the land for a period of at least 20 years.

2.          The Public Rights of Way and Commons Registration Officer said the necessary consultations had been undertaken and evidence from residents in support of the application had been received. As set out in the report, she explained the legal tests the Council must consider in determining the application, and the outcome of each test based on evidence received and collated.  She said for the application to be successful every test had to be met.

3.          The Public Rights of Way and Commons Registration Officer discussed the evidence received in conjunction with each of the tests to be considered, but concluded, for the reasons set out in the report and explained to the Panel, that the legal tests had not been met and recommended that the application should not be accepted.  She advised Panel Members that if they considered  that there were serious disputes of fact, the matter could be referred to a Public Inquiry. 

4.          Councillor Chris Morley (Applicant on behalf of Kennington Community Council) provided a statement in support of the application.  He said the application had been submitted in the summer of 2020 during the first stage of the Covid-19 pandemic where the ability to reach out to residents to gain their views was limited.  He said Ashford Borough Council had maintained the land from time to time since 1967 and the landowner had not contributed to the cost.  He said the land was registered as an Asset of Community Value provided for under the Localism Act 2011 approved by Ashford Borough Council.

5.          Councillor Diccon Spain (Applicant on behalf of Kennington Community Council) provided a statement in support of the application.  He referred to Bockhanger, the defined neighbourhood area used within the application, and said the area was huge compared to the small area of land in question and he would expect this to affect the amount of evidence obtained.  He said the age of children riding bikes was not material and the evidence submitted in respect of this pastime was acceptable. Councillor Spain highlighted that the land had been used for half a century since 1967 by residents living close to it. 

6.          Mr Daniel Kozelko (on behalf of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

Mr Paul Bartlett, Councillor Andrew Buchanan and Mrs Pauline Lowman were in attendance for this item.

1.          The Public Rights of Way and Commons Registration Officer introduced the report and said that the Council had received an application to register an area of land at Quantock Drive at Ashford as a new Town or Village Green from Mr P Bartlett in his capacity as the Local Member and on behalf of the community that he represents. The application had been made under Section 15 of the Commons Act 2006 which enabled any person to apply to a Commons Registration Authority to register land as a village green where it can be shown that a significant number of inhabitants had indulged as of right in lawful sports and pastimes on the land for a period of at least 20 years.

2.          The Public Rights of Way and Commons Registration Officer provided an overview of the land and explained the legal tests the Council must consider in determining the application, and the criteria and outcome of each test. She said the necessary consultations had been undertaken and evidence from residents in support of the application had been received.

3.          The Public Rights of Way and Commons Registration Officer explained that the land was sold at auction within days of the application being made.  She said the landowner had not engaged with officers regarding the application and different steps had been taken to contact them, consultation notices had been placed on the land, and a press article appeared on Kent Online.  The Public Rights of Way and Commons Registration Officer clarified that the lack of objection did not affect the outcome of the application and for the application to be successful the legal tests needed to be met.

4.          Having set out those tests in connection with the evidence received in support of the application, the Public Rights of Way and Commons Registration Officer recommended to Members that, for the reasons set out in the report and explained to the Panel, the legal tests had been met and the applicant should be advised that the application has been accepted (and the land be registered as a Village Green).

5.          Mr Baldock asked for clarification regarding the boundary of the land where it appeared an area had been missed off and the Public Rights of Way and Commons Registration Officer confirmed this was the plan submitted by the applicant and it was not possible to change the boundaries.

6.          Mr Chittenden asked whether photos had been provided in evidence of the use of the land and the Public Rights of Way and Commons Registration Officer confirmed they had.

7.          Mr Paul Bartlett (Applicant) addressed the Panel in support of the application.  He said he felt sufficient publicity had taken place to make the landowner aware of the application including an interview on Radio Kent.  Mr Bartlett clarified that the boundary line on the application plan had been made freehand.  He said the land was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

Mr Mark Dance (Local Member) and Ms Rebecca Booth (Canterbury City Council) were in attendance for this item.

1.          Mr Mark Dance informed the Panel that he was in attendance as the Local Member for this application and was therefore not a Member of the Panel for this item and would not form part of the decision making.

2.          The Public Rights of Way and Commons Registration Officer introduced the report and said that the Council had received an application to register an area of land at West Cliff Bank at Whitstable as a new Town or Village Green from Canterbury City Council. The application had been made under Section 15(8) of the Commons Act 2006 which enabled the owner of any land to apply to voluntarily register land as a new Village Green without having to meet the qualifying criteria.

3.          The Public Rights of Way and Commons Registration Officer provided an overview of the land and explained that, in respect of voluntary applications, there was no need for any legal tests to be met and the relevant criteria for the voluntary registration of land as a new Town or Village Green under section 15(8) of the Commons Act 2006 required only that the County Council was satisfied that the land was owned by the applicant.

4.          The Public Rights of Way and Commons Registration Officer said the Land Registry search confirmed that Canterbury City Council was the owner of the land and recommended to Members that the applicant should be advised that the application has been accepted.

5.          Mr Baldock asked if Canterbury City Council would have an obligation to maintain the land if they became the registered landowner, and the Public Rights of Way and Commons Registration Officer said there was no legislation specific to Village Greens that required landowners to maintain land, but they did have a responsibility under the Occupiers Liability Acts to ensure land was safe to use.

6.          Ms Rebecca Booth (Applicant) on behalf of the Friends of West Cliff Bank Group made the following statement:

“We are delighted that West Cliff Bank is being considered today for village green status. The Friends of West Cliff Bank have enjoyed huge support from local residents, environmental organisations and Canterbury City Council since this project started in 2021. We were delighted in the Autumn of 2021 to have unanimous agreement from Canterbury City Council members that this tranche of land between West Cliff and the Golf Course in the town centre of Whitstable should be put forward to become a village green.

The land had been largely untended for ten years and is now a thriving habitat for plants and animals, a precious biodiversity that the Friends group has been keen to support and maintain whilst opening up this green space for the enjoyment of local residents. Getting this balance right is always difficult but the Friends group has engaged many environmental and wildlife organisations to get advice including the Butterfly Conservation Trust, Kent Reptile  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

1.          The Public Rights of Way and Commons Registration Officer introduced the report and said that the Council had received an application to register an area of land at Preston Parade at Whitstable as Common land from the Open Spaces Society.  The application had been made under Paragraph 4 of Schedule 2 of the Commons Act 2006 which allowed for anyone to apply to register land as Common Land. 

2.          The Public Rights of Way and Commons Registration Officer explained the application had been briefly considered at the full Regulation Committee on 24 January 2023 where it was agreed that a decision on the matter should be deferred to enable the provision of further information.

3.          The Public Rights of Way and Commons Registration Officer provided an overview of the land and explained the relevant legal tests, under Paragraph 4 of Schedule 2 of the Commons Act 2006, that the Council must consider in determining the application.

4.          The Public Rights of Way and Commons Registration Officer explained that following exchanges of representations with the landowner/objector, the Applicant agreed that the land subject to the application was not capable of registration as Common Land and had requested that the application be withdrawn.

5.          Mr Dance informed the Panel that he was the Local Member for this application and confirmed he had taken no part in any discussions of the application and was able to approach the determination of the application with a fresh mind.

6.          Mr Baldock declared an interest in that he was a member of the Open Spaces Society.

7.          Mr Rayner proposed, and Mr Dance seconded, the recommendation in the report.

8.          The Chair put the motion set out in paragraph 20 of the report to the vote and it was agreed by majority.

9.          RESOLVED that the County Council agrees to the Applicant’s request to withdraw the application to register land at Preston Parade at Whitstable as Common Land.

There were no urgent items.