A judge has granted permission for what he suggested may be one of the last village green challenges.
Judge Anthony Thornton QC granted Richard Naylor permission to seek judicial review of Essex County Council’s decision to refuse to register an area of land known as Mill Lane Green as a village green, despite Naylor’s claims that it has been used by the public for more than 70 years.
He said that various factors “point strongly to the conclusion that the site has been used as a town and village green and that that use started sometime in the 1950s” and added that it was “highly arguable” that the decision was unreasonable.
The judge said: “This case, as the length of this judgment shows, is one redolent with difficulty and of considerable interest to town and village green applicants and practitioners. It is of particular significance since the coming into force of The Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013 since that Act will make it very unlikely that fresh applications for registration of town and village greens will be capable of being made hereafter.
“It follows that this particular judicial review is of particular significance to all those interested in Mill Lane Green and in any other extant application that is awaiting a decision or is subject to challenge.”
Silverbrook Estates, which bought the site in 2009, submitted a planning application to Tendring District Council in September 2011, and, shortly thereafter, instructed the district council to stop mowing the grass and to remove a dog-waste bin it had installed. Then, following the county council’s decision in February 2013, it closed the site to the public.
Naylor claims that the land has been open to and used by local inhabitants as of right for over 70 years, and therefore qualifies for protection as a village green.
But a planning inspector found that the use was not as of right, and had not been uninterrupted for 20 years to the date when the application to have it registered was submitted by Elizabeth Humphreys in April 2011.
Granting permission, the judge said: “I conclude and determine that Mr Naylor has sufficient standing to bring this claim. He has good and sufficient standing and interest in the subject-matter of the proceedings, is not a ‘mere busybody’, is representing the public interest in maintaining them and is maintaining a claim which is highly arguable.”
He said that Essex County Council (ECC) is going to reconsider its stance in relation to this challenge and invited it to do so in conjunction with Silverbrook. He added: “The issues are complex and bear reconsideration. If ECC decides to withdraw its opposition, it can do so either by withdrawing its previous decision and registering the application or by submitting a draft order supported by Mr Naylor for the original decision to be set aside or corrected.”
Naylor v Essex County Council Administrative (Judge Anthony Thornton QC) 7 March 2014
The claimant in person
Alan Evans (Instructed by Essex Legal Services, Essex County Council) for the defendant
A judge has granted permission for what he suggested may be one of the last village green challenges. Judge Anthony Thornton QC granted Richard Naylor permission to seek judicial review of Essex County Council’s decision to refuse to register an area of land known as Mill Lane Green as a village green, despite Naylor’s claims that it has been used by the public for more than 70 years. He said that various factors “point strongly to the conclusion that the site has been used as a town and village green and that that use started sometime in the 1950s” and added that it was “highly arguable” that the decision was unreasonable. The judge said: “This case, as the length of this judgment shows, is one redolent with difficulty and of considerable interest to town and village green applicants and practitioners. It is of particular significance since the coming into force of The Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013 since that Act will make it very unlikely that fresh applications for registration of town and village greens will be capable of being made hereafter. “It follows that this particular judicial review is of particular significance to all those interested in Mill Lane Green and in any other extant application that is awaiting a decision or is subject to challenge.” Silverbrook Estates, which bought the site in 2009, submitted a planning application to Tendring District Council in September 2011, and, shortly thereafter, instructed the district council to stop mowing the grass and to remove a dog-waste bin it had installed. Then, following the county council’s decision in February 2013, it closed the site to the public. Naylor claims that the land has been open to and used by local inhabitants as of right for over 70 years, and therefore qualifies for protection as a village green. But a planning inspector found that the use was not as of right, and had not been uninterrupted for 20 years to the date when the application to have it registered was submitted by Elizabeth Humphreys in April 2011. Granting permission, the judge said: “I conclude and determine that Mr Naylor has sufficient standing to bring this claim. He has good and sufficient standing and interest in the subject-matter of the proceedings, is not a ‘mere busybody’, is representing the public interest in maintaining them and is maintaining a claim which is highly arguable.” He said that Essex County Council (ECC) is going to reconsider its stance in relation to this challenge and invited it to do so in conjunction with Silverbrook. He added: “The issues are complex and bear reconsideration. If ECC decides to withdraw its opposition, it can do so either by withdrawing its previous decision and registering the application or by submitting a draft order supported by Mr Naylor for the original decision to be set aside or corrected.” Naylor v Essex County Council Administrative (Judge Anthony Thornton QC) 7 March 2014The claimant in personAlan Evans (Instructed by Essex Legal Services, Essex County Council) for the defendant
