Item 12 21 October 2010
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
PLANNING CONTROL COMMITTEE ITEM 12 21 OCTOBER 2010 Report of the Director of Planning and Transportation Application to Register Land at Sturgess Fields, Kedleston Road, Derby as a Town or Village Green SUMMARY 1.1 This report concerns an application to register land at Sturgess Fields, Kedleston Road, as a Town Green, under the Commons Registration Act 2006. 1.2 It reports on a public inquiry into this matter held in March 2010 and the recommendations of the independent inspector appointed by the City Council to run the inquiry and advise the City Council on this application. 1.3 It contains recommendations, in line with the advice of the Inspector, that around two thirds of the site should be registered as a Town Green. 1.4 It also reports on and welcomes, proposals by the University of Derby, who own the site, to produce a community based management plan. RECOMMENDATIONS 2.1 To refuse the application to register the whole of Sturgess Fields, Kedleston Road, Derby as a Town Green. 2.2 To refuse the application to register Field B at Sturgess Fields, Kedleston Road, Derby as a Town Green. 2.3 To accept the application to register Fields A and C at Sturgess Fields, Kedleston Road, Derby as a Town Green. 2.4 To accept that the boundaries of the area to be registered are as shown on Plan 2 so that so far as Field A is concerned, the southern bank of Mackworth Brook, should be its division from Field B and, so far as Field C is concerned, the western bank of the drainage ditch between Mill Dam Pond and Mackworth Brook should be its division from Field B. 2.5 The reasons for these recommendations are those stated in the Inspector’s report dated 10 July 2010. 2.6 To welcome the University’s commitment to produce a community based management plan for the site and to note the Director’s commitment to offering City Council staff time to assist, in an advisory role, in its production, subject to availability of resources. 1 REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS . 3. To enable the application to register the site as a Town Green to be determined and to demonstrate the City Council’s support for the University in its efforts to seek to manage the site in the optimum way. SUPPORTING INFORMATION 4.1 On 9 January 2008, the Council received an application from Mr Patrick Browne to Register Land at Sturgess Fields, Kedleston Road, Derby as a Town or Village Green on land at the site of the former Sturgess School, Kedleston Road and known as Sturgess Fields. 4.2 The application land is a large site of some 8.9 ha (22 acres) contained within an area which is enclosed on the north west by the A38, on the north east by Kedleston Road and Watson Street, on the south east by the Ashbourne and District Allotment Association site and the Scout Hut site, and on the south west by Markeaton Street and the path which extends towards the A38 from the end of Markeaton Street. The land comprises three fields referred to during the course of the inquiry as Field A, the northern-most field, bounded by the A38 and Kedleston Road, Field B, the western- most field, bounded by the A38 and the path from the northern end of Markeaton Street, and Field C, the southern-most long field, which borders the allotments. It generally consists of areas of trees, grassland, hard standing and is crossed by a number of brooks and ditches associated with the Markeaton Brook system. (See Appendix 2 Plan 1 which shows the divisions of the site and the site access points all as discussed at the Inquiry). It is mostly owned by the University of Derby. 4.3 The site was, until its demolition in 1989, the site of the former Sturgess School and its playing fields. In December 1993, the University of Derby purchased the site from the County Council, as the then education authority. 4.4 The Council considered the application to be duly made and posted public notices of the application on site and published one in the Derby Evening Telegraph on 5 September 2008. The public consultation period lasted for just over six weeks and ended on 17 October 2008. During this period we received an objection from Eversheds solicitors, dated 16 October 2008, on behalf of the University of Derby. The applicant was given the opportunity to respond to the Council’s objection and did so by letter dated 13 November 2008. 4.5 In order to assist the Council in coming to a decision on the status of the land, the Council appointed an independent barrister, Miss Lana Wood, to act as an Inspector and hold a public local inquiry into this matter. 4.6 The Council gave notice of the public local inquiry on 6 February 2010 with notices published in the Derby Evening Telegraph and posted on site. The public inquiry was held at Friar Gate Studios, Fox Street and ran for five days from Monday 15 March 2010 to Friday 19 March 2010 with two evening sessions. 38 witnesses gave evidence and more than 200 individuals and couple provided witness statements, on behalf of the applicant. The were two witnesses who gave evidence on behalf of the objector. 2 The Inspector has sent us her report on the application, dated 10 July 2010. The report sets out the evidence presented by the witnesses and summarises all other documentary evidence. As her report runs to 196 pages, we have extracted relevant sections from it to assist Members in reaching a decision (Appendix 4). A paper copy of the full report has been circulated to Members. The Inspector’s report sets out the evidence presented by the witnesses and summarises all other documentary evidence. Her principal conclusions are found in paragraph 14 of the report with the finalised conclusions and recommendations in paragraph 15. They have been reproduced in full in appendices 4 and 6 along with the commentary on the legal tests relevant to this application. Her recommendations are set out below. “(1) I recommend that the application should be refused in relation to Field B. The Applicant failed to show that Field B has been used as of right for the whole of the relevant period. Part of Field B was occupied by the former Sturgess School buildings at the beginning of the relevant period and until at least July 1989. There was little evidence that that part of Field B which was not occupied by the school buildings was used before the school buildings became derelict, other than to give access to the remainder of the land. Once the buildings became derelict people tended to avoid the area, and no-one claimed to have used the remainder of Field B whilst the buildings were in the course of demolition. (2) I recommend that the Registration Authority should register Fields A and C as a new town green. There was a substantial amount of evidence to support the Applicant’s case that Fields A and C had been used by the inhabitants of the West End, a neighbourhood within the locality of the City of Derby for lawful sports and pastimes for a period of 20 years ending in August 2007. I was satisfied that such use was use as of right. (3) I recommend the boundaries of the area to be registered, dividing those areas from Field B should be, so far as Field A is concerned, the southern bank of Mackworth Brook, and, so far as Field C is concerned, the western bank of the drainage ditch between Mill Dam Pond and Mackworth Brook.” 4.7 Officers are satisfied that the Inspector has assessed the application properly and thoroughly. In accordance with the Inspector’s recommendations, it is recommended that Members: refuse the application to register the whole of Sturgess Fields as a town green; refuse the application to register Field B at Sturgess Fields as a town green; but accept the application to register Fields A and C at Sturgess Fields as a town green; all as shown on Plans 1 & 2 in the appendix, and having an area of some 5.6 ha. Potential future management of the site 4.8 As noted above, the site has been managed by the University for several years. Over that time the City Council has worked together with the University to undertake a number of very successful joint partnership events on the site, including, this summer, the Schools Bioblitz, run with the BBC. 3 4.9 Appendix 5 provides a brief note on some of the implications, for users and the landowner, of registering the site as a Town Green. As noted here, in addition to the rights local inhabitants could gain from the registration of the site as a Town Green, the University would be entitled to continue to use the land in the way it has since its acquisition. The site has features within it features of recognised biodiversity and arboricultural importance that need careful management and a wildlife management plan for the site has been produced on behalf of the university. 4.10 Officers have had informal discussions with the University about the implications of Registering the land as a Town Green. We agree that it would be important to balance these potentially competing demands on the site and to help maintain its quality, for all lawful site users. The University have therefore stated that they wish to work with representatives of the community, through the Darley Neighbourhood Board, to produce a management plan for the site.