Agenda and draft minutes

Venue: Council Chamber - Civic Offices, Shute End, Wokingham RG40 1BN. View directions

Contact: Madeleine Shopland  Democratic and Electoral Services Specialist

Items
No. Item

1.

Election of Chairman for 2017/18 municipal year

To elect a Chairman for the 2017/18 municipal year.

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That Councillor Tim Holton be elected Chairman of the Commons Registration Committee for the remainder of 2017/18 Municipal Year.

2.

Appointment of Vice Chairman for the 2017/18 municipal year

To appoint a Vice Chairman for the 20017/18 municipal year.

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That Councillor John Kaiser be appointed Vice Chairman of the Commons Registration Committee for the remainder of the 2017/18 Municipal Year.

3.

Apologies for Absence

To receive any apologies for absence.

Minutes:

An apology for absence was submitted from Councillor Philip Houldsworth.

4.

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 56 KB

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting held on 13 January 2016.

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting of the committee held on 13 January 2016 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

5.

Declaration of Interest

To receive any declarations of interest.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

6.

Application for Registration of Land at Limmerhill as a Village Green pdf icon PDF 187 KB

To consider an application for the registration of land at Limmerhill as a Village Green.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Tim Holton reminded attendees that the purpose of the meeting was to determine the registration of the land at Limmerhill as a village green.

 

Catherine Woodward, Legal Officer from Wokingham Borough Council, highlighted elements of the Inspector’s report dated 18 September 2017, the Inspector’s supplementary report dated 18 October 2017 and the Inspector’s observations dated 9 December 2017 on the Applicant’s comments dated 22 November 2017 which had been provided to all members of the Committee. She stated that the Applicant, Lynn Forbes, had made the application under section 15(3) of the Commons Act 2006 on the basis that a significant number of the inhabitants of any locality or of any neighbourhood within a locality had indulged as of right in lawful sports and pastimes (LSP) on the land for a period of at least 20 years and that the application had been made within 1 year of the use ceasing. She continued by stating that fencing had been erected around the land in September 2014 and the period for qualifying use (under section 15(3) of the Commons Act 2006) in this instance was from September 1994 to September 2014.

 

Catherine Woodward outlined that the current owner of the land, Monopro Limited, had objected to the application on the basis that the statutory requirements for registration had not been met. It was noted that the Commons Regulations 2007, Regulation 6(7) stated that the authority must not refuse an application without giving the Applicant a reasonable opportunity to deal with objections and other matters. Catherine Woodward continued to state that as the solicitor acting for the landowner had raised issues of fact in their objection to registration it had been considered necessary to convene a non-statutory public inquiry to examine the factual evidence. The non-statutory inquiry had been held between 12 December and 20 December 2016. It was noted that an Inspector undertook an accompanied site visit on the morning of the final day of the inquiry. Following the conclusion of the inquiry, the Inspector presented her initial report and her supplementary report advising the registration authority on the application. Before arriving at a decision, the Council was legally obliged to take in to account the contents of the application for registration and any material accompanying it. The meeting was advised that the Council was also obliged to take into account any objections or other written representations; all oral representations made at the public inquiry, the findings made at any site visit and the report and recommendations of the Inspector following the public inquiry. 

 

Catherine Woodward continued by stating that the Committee could depart from the Inspector’s recommendations if they considered it appropriate to do so. In relation to the application that was being heard, it was considered that the recommendations of the Inspector should be followed for the reasons set out in the Inspector’s report and the supplementary report. It was recommended that the application for registration of land be refused with regard to the recommendation of the Inspector  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.