Interesting
Information
Village Green Status
A local
resident applied for the proposed site to have Village Green Status. We supported this application and we assisted
in the preparation of evidence that needed to be collated for the inspector at the informal
Public Inquiry in March 2007.
What is
Village Green Status?
Any land
on which the inhabitants of a locality have indulged in lawful sports and pastimes, as
of right, for not less than 20 years.
Lawful sports and pastimes –include
anything from picking blackberries or walking the dog, to games of cricket or
picnics.
As of right – means that the use of the
land must have taken place without force, without stealth or secrecy, and
without permission.
The
residents of the locality believed that the aforementioned criterion had been
fulfilled. Within a short space of
time 70+ evidence forms were completed by local residents and application for
Village Green Status was subsequently hand delivered to Herts. County Council
on 21st July 2004. At
that time it was advised that it should take about six months to process. It had, in fact, taken nearly
three years!!
Progress of our Village Green
Application
The
application passed the rigorous application processes.
Upon
notification of the application in December 2005, formal objections were
received from 3 out of the 4 landowners covering the site.
Subsequent
to receipt of landowner objections the House of Lords overturned an
unfavourable (to Village Green applicants) court of appeal decision that
nullified many of the objections.
In
August 2006 , the registration authority decided that the application would
be subject to an Informal
Inquiry. If successful the land
will be registered as a new green under the Commons Registration (
The 5
day Public Inquiry commenced on Tuesday 13th March, 2007.
On 2nd
October 2007 the Development Control Committee of Herts. County Council voted
unanimously to register the Village Green.
The
Village Green was formally registered by Herts. County Council on 14th
December 2007
If you
would like to know more about Village Green Status in Hertfordshire you should
contact Herts. County Council – address on our contacts page.
Flora
It became
clearly apparent that the site consisted
of far more than the buddleia infested scrubland described by London
Underground. Of course, the locals
had always known this, and evidence
of some very interesting and unusual plant life inhabiting the site was
unearthed. To-date we have a list
of over 200 species of plants, including several that are protected by law,
which have chosen our Buddleia Walk as their home.
In March
2007, Three Rivers District Council issued Tree Preservation Orders over all the
trees in Long Valley Wood.
Wildlife
Badgers, deer, slow worms, grass snakes, lizards, bats, foxes, numerous birds and butterflies, spiders and other invertebrates, to name but a few (!) have been seen living or foraging on the site. In fact, this site has become a wildlife haven over the last 25 years. So much so, that our Parish Council seriously considered purchasing the site when it was advertised for sale in the mid 1990’s . Unfortunately, London Underground withdrew the sale when they learned that they would be liable to clear any contamination of the site from their previous use as a tip.
The
Buddleia Walk, part of the new Village Green site, has now been awarded status
as a wildlife site. Long Valley
Wood already has this status.
History of the Site
Talking
about contamination, it is probably necessary to give a brief history of the
site. 100 years ago the site was
used as gravel quarry. At that
time evidence of ice age habitation was uncovered - some of these pieces can
still be seen in the
Once the
quarrying stopped, the site began to be back filled with waste. There are no records of what was
originally tipped at the site, but many Croxley residents have their own
opinions on this! Eventually, in
1953, the site was compulsorily purchased by London Underground to use as a tip
for spoil, earth and stones resulting from the workings of the railway. Again, it is unclear as to what has
actually been tipped on the site as it appears that the tipping was, certainly
in the early days, unregulated. We
have heard some interesting stories, including the fact that it might be a
train graveyard!
LUL
stopped tipping on the site in the mid seventies. The site was then abandoned and left to develop slowly but
surely into the tranquil wildlife setting it is now. We are talking about 30 years of peace while the land
settled into its green belt environs.
The surrounding woodland began to creep across the site, the wildlife
took up residence and the unusual ground soil provided a perfect home for some
unexpected flora. I have never
walked through a tunnel of buddleia in bloom covered in butterflies and bees
anywhere else – a rare experience – you should try it if you haven’t already
(June to September).