Agenda item

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 Landowner) provided a statement in objection to the application.  He said he broadly agreed with the officers’ report that the land should not be registered.  He referred to the test that considered whether the land had been used by a ‘significant number of inhabitants of a particular locality, or a neighbourhood within a locality’ and said this had not been met due to the small numbers involved and insufficient evidence regarding which areas of the land were being used.  He said the number of user evidence questionnaires provided in support of the application was low at just 22 and that the evidence provided was insufficient.  He went on to say that no photos had been provided, and satellite photos did not show people using the land.

7.          Mr Bartlett (Local Member) addressed the Panel in support of the application. He provided an explanation of the area in terms of dog walking as a lawful sport and pastime and objected to the view taken in the report that the size of the site limited this activity. Mr Bartlett said he and other local residents had big dogs and had regularly walked them on the land which he said was plenty large enough for dogs to be exercised. Mr Bartlett suggested the matter be referred to a Public Inquiry.

8.          Mr Baldock said there was an argument for an alternative neighbourhood to be considered and commented, with regards to photo evidence, that what could reasonably be expected should be considered.  He said sporadic events should not be dismissed as they were still usage and what community spaces were for.

9.          Mr Rayner proposed, and Mr Chittenden seconded the recommendation at paragraph 61 in the report.

10.      The Chair put the recommendation set out in the report to the vote and it was agreed by the majority.

11.      RESOLVED that the Applicant be informed that the application to register the land at Bybrook Road/The Pasture at Kennington as a Town or Village Green has not been accepted.