Life's a Beach!

A privately owned beach can be listed as a village green to allow residents the right to use it, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

The court has upheld the rights of local people to access Newhaven’s sandy West Beach in its judgment overturning an earlier High Court ruling.

Three Appeal Court judges have upheld the appeal of East Sussex County Council and Newhaven Town Council. This means that the beach can be registered as a village green.

The area had been fenced off by Newhaven Port and Properties (NPP). The town council then sought to have it registered as a village green in a bid to have it re-opened to the public.

Town councillor Carla Butler said: “I am over the moon that the court has ruled in our favour. We still believe passionately that Newhaven port can be regenerated at the same time as securing leisure access to the sandy beach for the people of Newhaven.”

NPP, the owners of the beach, has announced it will seek permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.

A spokesman said: "The board of NPP has noted the decision of the Court of Appeal. However, NPP were successful at first instance, and the decision of the Court of Appeal was only a majority decision.

"Further to this decision of the Court of Appeal, the board is seeking clarification on several grounds, and will therefore be applying for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court."

Comment:

This is a wake-up call for all those landowners who labour under the deluded impression that land they have owned, controlled and managed for decades is actually theres' to control. 

In my view the whole 'Village Green' thing has gone far too far. It is being used, in the vast majority of cases, to prevent development rather than to facilitate continuing opportunities for dog walkers and the odd jogger. Its amazing how many 'users' suddenly pop out of the woodwork when there's a campaign afoot.  I've recently seen successful attempts to have school playing fields confirmed as village greens - even where this prevents new school building to the benefit of the community. Talk about depositing effluent on ones own doorstep. 

What next I wonder? Perhaps, as there is so much public access, we ought to consider registering Heathrow as a village green, or maybe one or more of the Royal Parks - if they arn't already. Perhaps a hotel roof garden or two, the various football, rugby and other sporting grounds around the land or - on the basis of this decision - every foreshore, beach and dockside sandbar in the land.

And who pray is going to manage the upkeep at the end of the day? You can bet it wont be those who argued the toss in the first place.

Now don't get me wrong.  Village green's are an important part of our heritage, and make a positive contribution to town development vernacular, especially in rural Britain. I like them. I wouldn't want to see legitimate village greens go under the developers digger either. 

What I do object to though are the faux claims that just about any bit of land that some poodle has once made a puddle on can be instantly classified as a village green in the minds of a public who, up until the moment someone made a planning application, couldn't have cared two hoots about it and never in their life had set foot on it or even knew it existed.

Come on Supreme Court. Make some common sense of this situation so that otherwise reasonable proposals can get on, without having to run the gauntlet of the 'instant village green brigade'. 

 

Initial Report on the Planning Portal 3/4/13