Agenda item

(1)       The Panel Members visited the application site before the meeting. This visit was attended by Mrs M Heasman (applicant). 

(2)       The Commons Registration Officer said that the application had been made by Mrs M Heasman under section 15 of the Commons Act 2006 and the Commons Registration (England) Regulations 2008.  It had been accompanied by 54 user evidence forms and 9 statements of support.

(3)       The Commons Registration Officer then said that the application had originally included a tarmac parking area on the north eastern part of the site. Following an objection from Mr C Lissenden of the Town and Country Housing Group, the applicant had expressed a wish to exclude this part of the site from her application.

(4)       The Commons Registration Officer continued by setting out the views of the consultees.  Tunbridge Wells BC Planning had stated that it was unable to confirm whether the site had been used “as of right” by a significant number of local residents for lawful sports and pastimes.  Tunbridge Wells BC had also replied in its capacity as landowner.  It had stated that it did not wish to make any representations in respect of the application.  

(5)       The Commons Registration Officer went on to say that it was still necessary to establish whether each of the individual tests had been met, even though no objection had been received.  She therefore moved on to consider the legal tests.

(6)       The first test was whether use of the land had been “as of right.” The Commons Registration Officer said that there was no evidence to suggest that use had been by force or stealth.  Furthermore, there had been no indication that the landowner had given permission for use of the land. This included implied permission, as no fetes or other events organised by the landowner had taken place on the land in question.

(7)       The Commons Registration Officer then said that there had been use of the land for the purposes of lawful sports and pastimes.  The user evidence forms had made reference to a wide range of sports and pastimes, notwithstanding references within them to uses associated with the footpath.  As 60 local residents in the neighbourhood of High Brooms had attested to use of the site, it was also clear that use had been by a significant number of inhabitants of a neighbourhood within the locality of Tunbridge Wells.

(8)       The Commons Registration Officer then confirmed that use had continued up to the date of application (and beyond) and that use had indeed taken place over the entire 20 year period in question. This was 1992 to 2012 rather than 1991 to 2011 as set out in the report.

(9)       The Commons Registration Officer concluded her report by saying that as all the legal tests had been met, she recommended that the land in question (as amended) should be registered as a Village Green.

(10)     Mrs M Heasman (applicant) briefly thanked the Commons Registration Officer for the hard work that she had put in to producing a thorough report.  She confirmed in response to a question by the Chairman that church groups had organised events on the land.

(11)     Mr  Manion noted that one of the user evidence forms had stated that bonfires had taken place. He asked whether Mrs Heasman knew whether the landowner had been asked for permission. Mrs Heasman replied that she was not personally aware of this activity.  She suggested that it might have happened before the area had been properly grassed over.

(12)     Mr T A Maddison moved, seconded by Mr S C Manion that the recommendations of the Head of Regulatory Services be agreed.

                                                                        Carried unanimously

(13)     RESOLVED that the applicant be informed that the application to register land at South View Road in Tunbridge Wells as a new Town or Village Green has been accepted, and that the land subject to the application (as amended and shown in Appendix A of the report) be registered as a Village Green.