22nd October
2009
Borough of Poole
would like to clarify the process being adopted to
consider Town and Village Green applications
following extensive coverage in local media and a high
level of public interest.
The council is
currently dealing with its first Town and Village
Green applications. This is a detailed process set out
in legislation, which can apply to land that is in
public or private ownership.
The Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) report
that the average time to determine a Town and Village
Green application is 16 months, and while the council
will endeavour to work through these applications as
swiftly as possible, there are a number of legal
issues to consider.
Every piece of
evidence submitted with an application made under
Section 15 of the Commons Act 2006 must be checked to
ensure it is relevant and proper. The council as
registration authority will not reject evidence but is
legally obliged to ensure the whole application
complies with the Act. As there is no limit to the
amount of evidence that can be submitted, the period
of time for assessing the application is necessarily
extensive.
Once the
application is duly accepted the council is duty bound
to publicly advertise the application to allow anyone
wishing to object the opportunity to do so. Any
objection received may form part of the evidence on
which the final decision is made. One of the options
available to the council is to convene an independent
public inquiry.
Tim Martin, Head of Legal and Democratic Services,
Borough of Poole, said:
"The Town and Village Green applications will be
dealt with properly and efficiently given the
complex legal processes involved. The costs involved
in dealing with each individual application are
significant, as is the officer time invested and it
is vital we continue to operate in a sound and
proper manner. The majority of these costs will be
incurred whether or not the authority is putting
forward its own evidence in relation to the
application."
All applications
are determined individually. Until an application has
been determined, all work in the area claimed as Town
and Village Green is frozen.
Cllr Don Collier, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for the
Environment, Borough of Poole, said:
"We as an authority do not wish to do anything to
jeopardise public open space. We are committed to
its protection, enhancement and proper management
and as the landowning authority must give due
consideration to what is in the public interest and
act accordingly."
Although there
are no official statistics to show the cost of
determining a Town and Village Green application,
recent local authority cases would suggest costs
between £20,000 - £50,000 depending on the amount of
work involved in reaching a decision.
