A test case over plans to fence some common land near Guildford for cattle grazing is heading to the High Court. The case could have implications for many owners of unfenced land.
Kate Ashbrook, of the Open Spaces Society, won permission to mount a challenge to a government decision to allow 4,000m of fencing around 92ha of Wisley Common.
At the hearing later this year, Ashbrook will seek to quash a decision of the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs approving an application for fencing made by Alan Hines, of Surrey Wildlife Trust Countryside Services Ltd, which manages Surrey County Council’s countryside estate.
Permission for the fencing had been granted last October, after Hines had claimed that it was required as part of management proposals to reintroduce stock grazing to the common in order to conserve and enhance its heathland. It was found that the interests of those riding horses and mountain bikes on the land will be met by access to selected tracks on the common.
However, Ashbrook claims that the Secretary of State was not entitled to give consent to the fencing without a public inquiry.
References: EGi Legal News 06/05/04
