Village green update

It is vital to the quality of life in the locality to protect our local breathing space, ensuring it continues to be freely available for local residents to access and use now and in the future, and this is what Village Green status achieves. So an application to register Chorlton Meadows as a green was submitted to Manchester City Council in January 2010, relating to the land used as playing fields at Hardy Farm by UMIST until the mid 1980s. The application was supported by over 180 witness statements, maps and other documentary evidence. Manchester City Council has to follow due legal process in handling the application and it’s different to the way planning applications are dealt with.

This is what’s happened so far:

January 2010: Village Green application submitted and MCC confirm that it’s a validly made application

February 2010: Public notices put up on site about the application and MCC notify landowner. Deadline date for objections given as April 2010, but this is twice extended.

May 2010: MCC receive an objection from the solicitors, Addleshaw Goddard, on behalf of the landowner (and landowner fences adjacent land).

June 2010: MCC notify the applicants about the objection, setting a deadline of July 2010 for a response, but this is extended.

September 2010: Response to the objection submitted to MCC, with detailed rebuttal of the objection, further witness statements and supplementary evidence.

And next… Waiting for MCC to decide what to do next…

MCC has to decide whether it can accept or reject the Village Green application purely on the basis of the paperwork and legal arguments submitted. If this is not possible, most local authorities appoint an independent barrister as inspector to hold a non-statutory public inquiry. Councils are responsible for the final decision, but in practice always follow the recommendations of the inquiry inspector. If, but only if, all the tests for registration as a Village Green are met, then MCC has no choice and must register the land.

So whilst watching and waiting for MCC, we are looking ahead and anticipating that there will be a public inquiry. The landowner is likely to continue to be represented by solicitors and probably also a barrister. We have already received legal advice from the Open Spaces Society but now need to raise funds for legal help with the public inquiry and are in the process of registering as a charity so that we will be able to reclaim tax on gift-aided donations. There will be several fund-raisers in the coming weeks and months, which will help continue the community spirit and fun of events held in the last year.