Need representation at an inquiry or a formal written presentation to your planning or village green authority.
Planning Sanity may be able to help see our representation forum for more details. |
| The following colour scheme applies to docs on this site |
Word Docs | PDF Docs | HTML Docs |
This document is a supporting statement to be included with the application. Just amend and alter to suit you case. It is set out for a site that has some formal sports pitches.
>
Commons Act 2006
Application to Register Land as a Village Green Under Section 15(1)
......address of site.................
SUPPORTING STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF APPLICANTS
The following statement is submitted in support of the application to enter into the Register of Village Greens the land known as ..........................
- The land has been used by the inhabitants of the locality as described and set out in Section 6 of Form 44 which accompanies the application for a period of 20 years starting from the .......first date.......... until and including the ......second date........ for lawful sports and pastimes, as set out below and contained within other supporting evidence submitted with the application, as of right, and in the believe that the land was and is a village green for the purposes of prescription at Common Law and of the Commons Act 2006 and The Commons (Registration of Town or Village Greens) (Interim Arrangements) (England) Regulations 2007.
- A significant number of the inhabitants of the locality both past and present have used the village green for a range of sports and pastimes which are set out in brief within the Schedule attached at Appendix F (but is not exclusively limited to the uses therein set out) to the application. Further more a number of local clubs and organisations have also used the village green for formal and informal sports and leisure activities many of the members of whom also live within the locality.
- It is the case of the Applicants then they are not required to demonstrate every use on every occasion, or that such use is exclusively by inhabitants of the locality, therefore the evidence submitted with the application is such that it is intended to be viewed solely as examples of the use and extent of that use. Such evidence can and will be submitted by the Applicants if such information is requested by the Authority, and/or through an oral presentation of evidence at a local inquiry before an inspector appointed by the Authority.
- The Applicants and others will and do aver that they have used the land as a village green as of right without let or hindrance, except to the extent set out in the accompanying statement of support. As a fact it is the case of the Applicants that on no occasion has the owners or controllers of the land challenged their use of the land, or the use of the land by any other inhabitant of the locality, except to the extent that on some limited occasions part of the site has been used for formal sports in particular the use of the playing pitches for football matches by local clubs. However, in as far as those occasions are concerned it is the case of the Applicants that whilst generally every sod of turf could not be stepped upon there was no general restriction on their use of the village green as a whole, indeed quite the contrary as many inhabitants would participate in those formal games in the capacity as spectators, which for the purposes of the Act and Regulations is a lawful pastime
- (i.e the watching of sporting events)
- . Therefore rather than being restrictive the exclusive use of parts of the land on occasions by clubs and others contributed generally to the use of the land as a village green, by enabling a greater number of the inhabitants to participate in lawful pastimes, that would potentially not have used the land for that purpose without such formal activities taking place.
- It is the applicants case that it is not a restriction if on occasions a land owner uses the land for a purpose that the owner of that land is lawfully entitle to use it. This is clearly set out by Lord Hoffman in Oxfordshire County Council v Oxford City Council in the context of the requirement of owner and user to work in partnership each not being entitled to interfere with the others rights and/or uses. It is set out in the context of a farmer cutting hay, which the user should not kick, or destroy. In respects of the application land and its uses then that scenario can be applied within the context of the owner the council to allow on occasions certain clubs and others whether by the payment of a fee or otherwise to use the land for formal sports, both uses as with the farmer cutting his hay, can take place side by side with neither interfering with the others rights and obligations.
- In relation to the locality then reference should be made to the comments of Lord Hoffman in Oxfordshire County Council v Oxford City Council where he stated that locality should be viewed as localities, and therefore where the catchment zone of the locality appears to refer to more than one defined locality then it should and does intend to be a reference to localities. In the previous application the Applicants were wrongly advised to restrict the locality to a very limited neighbourhood, whereas in fact the true locality of the village green stretches to the extent set out in the present application and therefore nothing should be implied from the previous application that the locality is more restrictive than that is now being submitted.
- It is not a requirement to demonstrate that all of the users of the land are inhabitants of the locality, all that is required is to demonstrate that by illustration that in the terms of the finding of the High Court in R v Staffordshire County Council exparte McAlpine Homes [2002] 2 PLR 1, QDB, that is in the context of there being sufficient numbers to signify that the land was in general use by the inhabitants of the locality. This is sufficiently done within the level of representations submitted, with as is pointed out above is only illustrative of the wider use. Indeed if it was a requirement to proof a greater usage then the system would become over stretched by the shire volume of representations that would be required to be submitted. Therefore for the purposes of the Act and Regulations it is submitted that not only sufficient evidence has been submitted, but that evidence is such a quality as to demonstrate clearly that this land and its use should be entered into the register of village greens.
- East Lindsey District Council has on two occasions undertaken work on the site, and whilst this has caused some limited areas of the land not to be available during those construction periods by the inhabitants, at the end of such works both areas have returned to use by the inhabitants. In the event that the Registration Authority are of the view that those parts of the site have not met the tests for registration then the Applicants will apply to amend the application to exclude those two small areas of the site from the application land. This statement then should be read as an intention to make such an application if it is deemed to be necessary to apply for such an amendment,
- The Applicants rely in chief on the evidence contained within the attachments to the application, the witness statements of the applicants and other letters of support, which does not require further expansion within this statement other than to set out the general thrust of the case being forwarded.
- The application land has been used by the inhabitants for recreational and leisure purposes going back to the 1970s, this use has included formal and informal sports, the walking of dogs, other walking activities, for play of younger members of the community, as a picnic area by families as well as for kite flying, blackberry picking (in season) watching of wildlife, as sports spectators and various other uses. These uses continued and heightened during the period from ......... to .........., and continues to this day, with natural fluctuations based upon seasonal usage.
- As such the Applicants believe that all relevant criteria required to be demonstrated in order for the land to be entered in the register of village green has been met.
Signature................................................... date...........
Name
To be signed by one of the Applicants
© Planning Sanity - August 2008 (can be freely used by local communities within their campaigns.
Publication by third parties is permitted providing acknowledgment of Planning Sanity is given)
THIS CAMPAIGN IS FUNDED FROM YOUR DONATIONS - PLEASE GIVE GENEROUSLY
FUNDRAISING SECTION
