Agenda 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 land at Bunyards Farm at Allington as a new Town or Village Green from Mr C. Passmore, Mr J Willis, Mr T Wilkinson, Cllr P Harper, Mr T Walker and Mr D Edwards.  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 could 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 explained that the Applicants’ case was that access had been available from a number of points around the site and set out, as in the report and on the plan attached at Appendix B to the report, the different access points. She said the nature of the application site had varied considerably over the last few decades.

3.         The Public Rights of Way and Commons Registration Officer noted that the application site was subject to a separate outline planning application for a residential development which was currently under consideration by Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council and it had no bearing on the outcome of the village green application.

4.         The Public Rights of Way and Commons Registration Officer said the site was registered to the Trustees of the Andrew Cheale Will Trust and BDW Trading Ltd had a legal interest in the land in the form of an option to purchase. She explained that an objection to the application had been received during the consultation stage from these parties, as set out in the report.

5.         The application was previously considered at a Regulation Committee Member Panel meeting on 15 September 2023 where Members accepted the officer recommendation that the matter be referred to a Public Inquiry. The Public Inquiry took place during March 2024 where an Inspector was appointed by the Council to hear evidence from both sides in relation to the application. The Inspector had prepared a report setting out her findings and recommendation to the Council and this had been circulated to the Landowners and Applicant for their comments. A copy was also circulated to Panel Members for their consideration prior to the meeting.

6.         The Public Rights of Way and Commons Registration Officer explained, as set out in the report, the legal tests that must be considered in determining the application, and the outcome of each test based on evidence received and collated, including the Inspector’s opinion on each test.  She said for the application to be granted every test had to be met in full and if one test failed, the application falls to be rejected.

7.         The Public Rights of Way and Commons Registration Officer said the Inspector’s view was that the application should fail because the legal tests had not all been met. The application failed to show the use of land was ‘as of right’ throughout the relevant period and the use of the application land was in the nature of public rights of way use only by the end of the relevant period. The Officers’ view was that the parties’ evidence and submissions had been carefully examined by the Inspector and the matter had been thoroughly scrutinised. It was considered that the Inspector’s Report accurately represented both the evidence and submissions made.

8.         The Public Rights of Way and Commons Registration Officer said the Applicants, the landowners, and the objectors were given the opportunity to comment on the Inspector’s report but no submissions were received.

9.         The Public Rights of Way and Commons Registration Officer recommended, for the reasons set out in the Inspector’s Report dated 12 September 2024, that the Applicants be informed that the application to register the land at Bunyards Farm as a new Town or Village Green has not been accepted.

10.      Mr Chris Passmore (Applicant) expressed the applicants’ disappointment with the recommendations of the Inspector. He said whilst the second reasoning of the Inspector’s decision regarding public rights of way could be contested, it was difficult to evidence that Access Point D was accessed on a critical date. Mr Passmore felt the landowner did not look after the land for a long period of time or make a significant effort to deter residents from using it. The residents of Allington felt it was their land to walk on and the local community would lose the land to housing and have to travel further to walk dogs and enjoy nature. Mr Passmore thanked Officers for their work throughout the process.

11.      Ms Chay Clark from Birketts LLP (the landowner’s solicitor) spoke on behalf of the landowner and respectfully asked the Panel to disregard the Applicant’s comments regarding development, and thanked all parties for their time in the matter.

12.      Mr Cole expressed his understanding for the Applicants’ position but recognised that the four day public inquiry had dealt with the complex issues in detail and was therefore in support of the officer recommendation.

13.      Mr Cole proposed, and Mr Ozog seconded, the recommendation in the report that the Applicant be informed that the land known as Bunyards Farm at Allington has not been accepted as a village green, and this was unanimously agreed.

14.      RESOLVED that, for the reasons set out in the Inspector’s report dated 12 September 2024, that the Applicants be informed that the application to register the land known as Bunyards Farm at Allington as a new Village Green has not been accepted.