OVERVIEW RECOMMEND VOLUNTARY VILLAGE GREEN REGISTRATION

FOR THE WHOLE OF KINGSMEAD FIELD!

But how will the Executive respond?

At last night's Overview meeting, a recommendation was adopted proposing the voluntary designation of ALL of Kingsmead Field as a Village / Town Green.  This is a great step in the right direction.

We will find out how the Executive responds at next Thursday's Executive meeting

(Guildhall, entrance to Westgate Gardens, 6.30pm).  Please join us there!

Thank you to everyone who came to support Kingsmead Field last night and to all the Councillors who gave such excellent presentations in support of the field.  Special thanks to Cllr Ashley Clark who gave such a passionate appeal for Village Green status, based on his many years of experience in managing Duncan Down Village Green in Whitstable.  A copy of his speech is given below:

If there is one thing I have learnt about officer reports in the last 3 years, it is that they are like Henry Ford Cars. You get options  .........” You can have any colour you want as long as it is black” ..... and in this case black for the people of Canterbury.

I want green........ Village Green and I’ll tell you why. Here we are offered protection under the local plan. Let’s look at the local plan. Let’s simplify it. Its about one thing yes this  - Brick and lots of it and everything else contained therein is pure aspirational fluff. I voted for it because you can’t stop the tide coming in and  the alternative is planning anarchy but one is naive in the extreme if you think the local plan designations will protect our open spaces because that is just not true. The optimum answer is to seek protection outside the plan because that is the only way you get the best protection there is and not transient protection that at the most will only survive the length of the plan when everything is up for grabs all over again, or protection that can be modified on a whim or subject to planning appeals by unelected planning inspectors from the other side of the country.  I’m not making this up. Only last year an area of Protected Open Space was put up for an industrial estate in Whitstable ..... and this even had the backing of officers. Fortunately members had the good sense to chuck it out but this clearly illustrates that the protected open space designation is no protection at all.

Village Green status guarantees the rights of LOCAL people to engage in lawful sports and pastimes 24/7 365 days a year. Unlike the local plan it is armour plated and has the protection of national law, not mere local policy. It is outside of the local plan and village greens work.  I know that because against opposition I have successfully applied for three such greens and year after year we win award after award for the excellence and this is brought about by local people giving up hundreds of hours of their time. And I know Canterbury can do the same.   Let put locals first for once. Let’s have real localism without the spin. This Council seems not like that because over the last 3 years they have spent tens of thousands of pounds, yes tens of thousands of pounds of our money, yes our money fighting village greens, fighting the highest protection but to be fair where Village Greens do exist this Council has protected them - yet another reason to take this route.

 Once created deregistration of a village green is difficult in the extreme. First you have to apply to central government, then you have to prove that it is in the public interest ie not a commercial interest and then if the area is larger than 200 square metres you have to provide substitute land  difficult in the extreme when there is none available...... and that’s the law. It’s the Commons Act 2006 section 16.

So what do we get in response? ... Crocodile tears for a circus and the odd boot fair. Where were those tears when this council wanted to build over the whole lot? Does the circus and boot fair tail wag the dog?  Circuses ... I ask you. Is this ancient Rome in decline or the city of Canterbury, a city where true vision and responsible custodianship means we protect open spaces in the best way we can  and we live up to our election promises for future generations? Second best is just not good enough. To echo Lincoln, Government by the people, FOR the people, must not perish from the face of this District.

Ultimately this will have to go to the Executive and some will say” You can’t change a leopard’s spots”. I say you can try because fortunately this leopard is not spotty all over. If the worse comes to the worse in 10 months time there is a solution... Shoot the leopard!