Town/Village Green application: all the land around Knowle is recognised as 'public open space'

A letter in today's Herald from the vice-chair of the Knowle Residents' Association:

The Editor,

Sidmouth Herald

8^th July 2014

Dear Sir,

So, East Devon District Council are whinging that the application to register the Knowle as a Town Green has delayed their exodus from Sidmouth and cost them money (Sidmouth Herald, 4^th July).

What a cheek! The application to register the Knowle as a Town Green, which was rejected on a legal technicality, was only submitted by local residents as a response to the Council’s planning application to build houses on the Knowle Park and Gardens and to sell the land to Developers. As your readers will be aware, the Council eventually refused their own planning application which they have admitted cost them at least £113k. When it comes to relocation, East Devon District Council appear to have a bottomless pot of our money to throw away.

Incidentally, readers may be interested to read the report of the Inspector who held a public hearing into the Town Green application in April. The difference between the way in which the Inspector complimented the members of the Knowle Residents’ Association who gave evidence and the cursory way in which the Inspector dismissed the Council’s evidence is glaringly obvious. The Inspector’s report can be read on the Save our Sidmouth website www.saveoursidmouth.com

Yours faithfully,

Kelvin Dent

Vice-Chair, Knowle Residents’ Association.

Latest local news & information in Sidmouth | Sidmouth Herald

... which reflects points made by postings in yesterday's SOS blog:

“..use of the whole of Knowle ‘by right’ since 1984,” says Inspector’s report (ref 107)

July 8, 2014 by sidmouthsid 1 Comment

Devon County Council (as the Commons Registration Authority) has accepted the Inspector’s recommendation on the Town and Village Green application 

(See http://saveoursidmouth.com/2014/07/07/knowle-town-and-village-green-application-inspectors-report/). 

Click here for DCC’s statement: http://www.devon.gov.uk/notice-knowle-sidmouth.pdf

“..use of the whole of Knowle ‘by right’ since 1984,” says Inspector’s report (ref 107) | Save Our Sidmouth

... and the East Devon Alliance blog:

KNOWLE LEGALLY RECOGNISED AS PUBLIC OPEN SPACE. WHAT CONSEQUENCES FOR EDDC?

9 July 2014

In order to qualify as a Town or Village Green, land has to have been used by the public “as of right” ie. without any form of permission. Much of the land that the Knowle Residents’ Association applied to register had been appropriated by Sidmouth Urban District Council (UDC) as public open space and EDDC have made byelaws to control its use. The Inspector therefore concluded that the public have used this land “by right” ie with the implied permission of EDDC rather than “as of right” and  he rejected the application on this technicality.

The interesting thing to have come out of this is that the Inspector concluded that the rest of the land included in the Town and Green application (which Sidmouth UDC had not appropriated) is also public open space by implication because the byelaws make no distinction between appropriated and unappropriated land.

BEFORE PUBLIC OPEN SPACE CAN BE DISPOSED OF, THE COUNCIL HAVE TO ADVERTISE TWICE AND CONSIDER OBJECTIONS.

Knowle legally recognised as public open space. What consequences for EDDC? | East Devon Alliance

See also:
Principles behind Knowle relocation have been abandoned, says EDDC Councillor | East Devon Alliance
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