What has happened?
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Background and key events 2015 to 2023;
In 2015, the former Chiltern & South Buck District Council announced proposals to remove circa 60 hectares of agricultural land from Green Belt to the North East of Chesham and initially for building:
The Community came together and within weeks had accumulated over 1,500 supporters who signed a Petition against these proposals. This was presented to the Council at the end of that year. Ongoing work resulted in the former unincorporated entity known as Brown Not Green (BNG) becoming a not-for-profit company limited by guaranteed (namely Brown Not Green Chesham Ltd) in 2016. Lobbying was made by BNG to numerous District and Town Councillors as well as to the former MP (the late Dame Cheryl Gillan) and the current MP, Sarah Green. A public meeting was convened by BNG in the Chesham Town Hall and Chairman by Cheryl Gillan MP where there was standing room only (A video of this meeting & the key presentations is available elsewhere to view, by a link in the BNG website.) BNG made numerous representations during the former Local Plan consultation phases and raised almost £40,000 to hire professional third party consultants and appointed barristers from Landmark Chambers to represent the community. However, a Board of unpaid volunteer Directors made up largely from local people who formed BNG in 2015, have consistently steered BNG for over more than 10 years now. BNG also made applications for 6 public footpaths across/around the field to be added to the Definitive Map of public footpaths. BNG also felt the evidence supported making an application for the fields to be designated as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) under the Localism Act which would have given BNG the option to purchase the land and thereby retain the land for agricultural and community use. Our initial ACV application was successful and the fields were listed as an Asset of Community Value in July 2019. However, the listing was (we believe) then unfairly reviewed in December 2019 and the designation withdrawn. BNG considered an appeal/Legal Challenge to that decision which was not pursued for reasons of cost though a complaint was made against the Council to the Local Authority Ombudsman. However representations continued to be made by BNG to the emerging Local Plan examination in public and BNG were anticipating presenting evidence before the Independent Local Plan Inspectors at an Examination in Public due to be held in spring 2020. The pandemic caused these hearings to be delayed but the Inspectors wrote to the Council expressing serious concerns about the legal compliance of the draft Local Plan and recited many criticisms that BNG had voiced in its earlier written evidence. Consequently, the draft Local Plan was withdrawn by the new formed unitary Buckinghamshire Council in October 2020. This withdrawal created a legal opportunity for BNG to then apply to have the fields registered as Town of Village Green under s.21 of The Commons Act 2006. Over 200 local people completed online questionnaires reciting a variety of informal recreational uses they had exercised on or around the land for more than 20 years including walking, running, cycling walking with dogs, bird watching, picking blackberries or sloes, or communing with nature. A Public Inquiry was conducted in March 2023 and both landowners had assembled a formidable legal team involving two KCs instructed by two separate legal firms. 17 BNG supporters appeared at the Inquiry and presented evidence with many more attending the various Hearing Sessions. The Inquiry was conducted over 4 days with a further day for a site visit/walkover by the Inspector who issued his Decision Notice in the autumn of 2023. Unfortunately, BNG were unsuccessful for reasons described elsewhere on this website. Little has happened between the end of 2023 & 2025 though surveyors have been seen on the land periodically and more recent events are detailed in the Home Page of this website. |
Click on maps to see area affected.
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Brown not GreenIf you want to help protect the Green Belt and have your say on the future of Chesham you can;
We contend the Council’s evidence so far is inconsistent, confused and that it does not demonstrate exceptional circumstances for redefining Green Belt boundaries around Chesham. |
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What has happened so far?
The Brown Not Green (BNG) Campaign has amassed support from all parts of the Town. At the beginning of 2017 we had circa 1,800 names on our Petition.
- BNG sought to have the Land at Lye Green designated as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) in 2019 and briefly secured this designation for about 7 month giving BNG the Right to Buy under the Localism Act 2011. This was based on community evidence of public using the land for informal outdoor recreation for decades. The ACV status sadly was revoked following a controversial Review Decision by the Council at the end of 2019.
- The draft Local Plan moved forward for Examination in Public before two Inspectors early in 2020. Due to the Covid pandemic, Hearing Sessions were delayed and later cancelled though the Inspectors sought additional submissions from certain parties including BNG.
- BNG made comprehensive submission on numerous aspects of the Plan including concerns about the non-legal compliance of the Plan and in particular the absence of co-operation with neighbouring Local Authorities.
- The Inspectors acknowledged these eriticisms and expressed concern to the former Council on all these issues. Based on the Inspectors recommendations, the draft Local Plan was later formally withdrawn in late October 2020. Within days of this “terminating event” BNG submitted applications for the Land at Lye Green to be designated as a Village Green under s.15 of the Commons Act 2006.
- We took a number of adverts in the local papers, (2016)
- We have distributed thousands of leaflets around the Town, (2016)
- We have taken a stall in Chesham Market a couple of times to enable those without internet access to sign the physical petition, (2016)
- We have displayed numerous signs & banners in and around the Town, (2016)
- We have lobbied Councillors in the Town, District & County Councils and before Christmas 2016 both Chesham Town Council & Bucks County Council resolved to reject the preferred Green Belt site option 1 in Chesham, (2016 and 2017)
- Updated results from our Petition were formally handed to the Head of The Council in the Council Chamber on Tuesday, 10 January 2017.
- Most importantly we offered guidance to people about this matter and were able to ensure as many people as possible submitted a response to the Green Belt Consultation by the December 12th 2016 deadline.
- BNG have spoken to the principle landowner who wishes it to be known that he does NOT support the Council's proposals other than for a much smaller area of housing development on roughly 25% of the site. He has confirmed he will not sell the rest of the site. Ref: Principle Landowner Reluctant to Sell - Brown Not Green (2017)
- Aylesbury Vale District Council have agreed to take 5,750 homes from the unmet housing needs from neighbouring Chiltern District, reducing the need to develop Green Belt options in the area. (2017)
- Chiltern District Council delayed making any public response on the matter until November 2017 but launched a Strategic Review of the Green Belt proposals. (2017)
- BNG were invited to a meeting with Chiltern District Planning officers in December 2017. Council Officers rejected the BNG notion that brownfield land could meet all the unmet housing needs of the area. BNG were not impressed and have since agreed to appoint a barrister from the famous Landmark Chambers to advise on final submissions to the Council and to appear at the future Local Plan Inquiry (Examination in Public) probably in 2019.
- BNG are fundraising to pay for this legal representation against the emerging Draft Local Plan Find out more about our fundraising efforts here.
- BNG reached their initial fundraising target of £20,000. We are still leaving all the fundraising channels open and will continue to request funds so that we can exceed the original target as surplus legal funds will be required for this lengthy campaign.
- The Local Development Scheme was further delayed again. Suggestions were that the next Consultation Stage would occur towards the end of 2018. BNG have in the interim had an initial consultation with our retain barrister from Landmark Chambers and have also sought additional third party expert consultants as well.
- Between March & November 2018, nothing appeared to change on the Council’s website which merely proclaimed that:
- “The published Local Development Scheme will not now be able to be met. Following local transport modelling and duty to co-operate engagement with Highways England, the Councils are required to undertake additional specific strategic highway (motorway) junction modelling. This modelling will be published on the Emerging Local Plan Evidence Base of the website in due course.”
- However, during that period Central Government published a revised updated version of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which introduced much welcomed additional requirements to protect the Green Belt. Specifically, local authorities should now alter green belt boundaries only where exceptional circumstances are 'fully evidenced and justified', the new NPPF says. [To see the new NPPF click here]
- In December 2018, the Council announced another “Call for Sites” exercise notionally to update and refresh their database but BNG hope this also indicates the Council are finally starting to realise they have not identified all the Brownfield sites and opportunities for housing provision which BNG have been advocating for over 2 years. The Call for Sites consultation is open until 14 January 2019.
