seaton-community-action.org.uk

Dear Seaton Meadow Supporters,

This is to let you know that there will be:

A meeting of the Regulation Committee Member Panel of the Kent County Council on:

Tuesday 15 November 2011
at 1.00 pm

Westgate Hall,
Westgate Hall Road,
Canterbury
CT1 2BT.

At this meeting the Panel will decide whether to grant Wickhambreaux Parish Council’s application to register Seaton Meadow as a new Village Green, refuse the application, or to recommend the matter be decided at a public inquiry. The applicant, the landowners and selected members of the public have an opportunity to speak at this meeting.

The Panel Members will be visiting Seaton Meadow

- At 11.00 am on the morning of Tuesday 15 November 2011 in order to familiarise themselves with the site. The Panel Members are county councillors (4 Conservative and 1 Liberal Democrat).

It would help if as many people as possible could attend the site visit and/or the meeting at Westgate Hall so that the councillors are aware of the importance of this issue to local people.

The Panel makes their decision based on a report issued by KCC which summarises the submissions made by the Village Green applicant and the landowners/objectors. This report recommends a Public Inquiry. We support this as it will provide an opportunity for the case to be discussed in depth.

A Happy New Year to our supporters.  We are all very hopeful that this year will bring a favourable decision on the Seaton Meadow village green application.

In the meantime, at the Parish Council meeting on Tuesday18th January, members of the public present heard that Mr & Mrs Perkins had put an offer to the Council to re-direct their fence in an attempt to halt the vandalism which has been occurring on the meadow.  The prosposed fence line is shown in the map below.  Mr & Mrs Perkins proposed to give the land shaded pink as a “gift in trust” to the village.  Wickhambreaux Parish Council decided unanimously not to accept the offer as it did not provide access to a shallow part of the river where children could play and people could cross.

Seaton Community Action feel the Parish Council were right to reject the offer.  What do you think?

Vandalism:  We would like to repeat the message we posted back in March last year. We urge people not to vandalise any private property on Seaton Meadow and we do not condone any malicious acts.  The village green application is a legal remedy to our problem.  There is no need for vandalism, it doesn’t help.

Meet outside the Rose inn, Wickhambreaux bring yourselves, your children, friends and dogs (on leads please) and we shall peacefully walk the path alongside the barbed wire fence in Seaton Meadow to show our feelings. …and afterwards in the Rose to bring you up to date with Village Green application news.

Seaton Meadow – Village Green Application

We should like to thank everyone who submitted evidence questionnaires in support of the application to register Seaton Meadow as a Village Green. We had a wonderful response and our application is now filed. We now need to wait several months before Kent County Council looks at our application (there is a backlog). Further news, when it becomes available, will be posted on the web site www.seaton-community-action.org.uk.

From Wickhambreaux Parish Council and Seaton Community Action

SCA has successfully put pressure to KCC to achieve this important outcome that will rectify the some of the vandalism of Seaton Water Meadow by the new owners. Andrew Hutchinson the Public Rights Of Way Area Manager (East Kent) wrote to SCA to:

“confirm that we intend to now deal with the matter, through serving a 1 month notice for the owner to restore the path surface… If it isn’t restored after the expiry of this timescale the intention is to take direct action to repair the path ourselves and recover the cost from the owner.”

Result.

At last night’s meeting of the Wickhambreaux Parish Council, members condemned the changes taking place on the grazing marsh between Wickhambreaux and Seaton. They agreed to gather evidence to consider applying to register the land as a village green. A village green is defined as land where a significant number of the inhabitants of any locality have indulged as of right in lawful sport and pastimes for a period of at least twenty years. Activities such as children playing and dog walking count as lawful pastimes. They will also make further checks with the City Council about protection afforded by the Conservation Area status, with their arboricultural officer and the Environment Agency.