Since the success of Brown Not Green having the land and woodlands at Lye Green listed as an Asset of Community Value there has been a growing number of reports of intimidation from the landowners where previously there has been none.  We have now had reports of over 20 people being approached in the last 2 weeks being told to get off the land. 

BNG is not qualified to give legal advice however we wish to give a commentary on this issue for our supporters to take on board and share with their friends and family who use the fields for recreational and commuting purposes.

• The threat of prosecution is a hollow one and may well just be an attempt at intimidation.
• Trespass is NOT a criminal offence (other than squatting in residential premises or specific types of property e.g. railway premises, airports, foreign diplomatic premises ). 
• As such the police would be very unlikely to attend even if the landowner called them and certainly would not arrest anyone (unless that person then refused the Police request to leave).
• Trespass is a “tort” however and the landowner can bring a civil action against someone for trespass if he/she wanted to spend the legal costs of doing so! 
• The remedies are usually an award of “damages” to the landowner or an “injunction” preventing the person coming on the land again. Subsequent breach of an injunction would be contempt of court. 
• Damages would likely be very modest or trifling (but beware legal costs awards could be granted)
• However, torts are expensive to bring especially if there is a potential defence. 
• The most robust defence is to claim prescriptive rights namely that the alleged trespasser has used the land / route regularly as of right openly for over 20 years.  Frankly, legal advice that BNG have had is there is little a landowner can do to prevent someone with prescriptive rights exercising them!
• Even if the alleged trespasser has not got prescriptive rights (ie he/she has not used the land regularly for over 20 years) he may still claim that he has had “implied consent” (or a licence) having enjoyed open unrestrained use for say 5, 10 or 15 years whatever without complaint or restraint.  Open unrestrained use could be implied by there being no keep out notices, no locked gates or non-fenced openings, the presence of well-trodden footpaths or just many others doing it openly too for decades etc.
• However, if the landowner asserts there is no consent and asks him/her to leave, they must do so.
• NOTE: Fences are currently being put up on the land to close off access to these unadopted paths.  
• BNG would not recommend confrontation, just say you don’t agree you are trespassing and walk away. 
• Similarly BNG would NOT recommend tearing down fences that are being put up.
• However, BNG are seeking to have various unadopted footpaths on the land adopted as Public Rights of Way and we URGENTLY need to hear from anyone who can give written evidence about the prolonged use of these paths especially if they have used then for over 20 years.  Please ask them to get in touch with BNG ASAP so we can take a statement from you.  (However, we would NOT recommend repeating this to any landowner/farmer if they challenge you on site please!)

We urge all our supporters to remain polite and courteous in all instances so that we can prove that all the intimidation is in a one way direction only.  If you are involved with a confrontation with the farmer/landowner, if you can please record it on your mobile phone and/or write a record of it in the event that BNG wish to take matters further.

Thanks again for your continued support

​The BNG Team 

Please take the time to fill in our survey by clicking on the clipboard.
​It only takes three minutes.  We need all responses by 31st July.
Thanks, the BNG Team

June and July has been a VERY busy period for the Brown Not Green (BNG) campaign but we have some important news to share with you that illustrates how your support and pledges of money ARE making a difference. 
​

• First, we are delighted to announce that we have recently been told that our application to have the fields at Lye Green listed as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) has been APPROVED!  This is a very significant development which I will explain later in this message.

 

• Brown Not Green had recently raised concerns with the planning department about incorrect assertions being made by a few Councillors that any letters & written comments made by the public would not be considered to the current Regulation 19 consultation unless they were submitted online or via the Council’s website Portal.  These assertions have since been confirmed as INCORRECT.  Any form of written comment made by the public (including letters or written statements) and submitted before the deadline WILL be considered and passed to the independent planning inspector.

 

• Finally, (and probably because of the above) the deadline for making comments under the Regulation 19 Public Consultation has just been EXTENDED from 19 July to 23 August 2019.

The listing of the fields at Lye Green as an Asset of Community Value now means that we have demonstrated that the land satisfies the requirements of the Localism Act 2011, namely that the land is widely used by the community for a variety of informal outdoor recreational uses and as such the land “improves the wellbeing of the local community”.  This was the burden of proof we had to satisfy under our s.88 application. 

The land will now be listed as an ACV for 5 years and this gives BNG the “Right to Bid” for the land. Restrictions will be recorded on the landowner’s title at Land Registry.  This means that if the landowner(s) wish to sell the land at any time during the next 5 years, they must give a clear prior 6 months’ notice to Brown Not Green to enable us to arrange finance/loans etc in order for BNG to bid for the land.   BNG as a not for profit company, have stated that any purchase of the land would be held in Trust for continued community benefit in order to maintain the status quo; namely to maintain the land in agricultural use whilst also ensuring the community still has access for the many informal recreational uses that have been enjoyed by hundreds of people for decades.

However, this designation as an ACV also raises several material planning considerations that we want to put before the Inspector too.  Including:

• The 13 Green Belt sites being allocated in the new Local Plan for housing are supposed to represent the “worst performing” Green Belt sites in the District. The Land at Lye Green is one of these sites in the emerging Local Plan - (SP BP2).  We have long maintained that the Council’s Green Belt site selection methodology was flawed and based on many preconceptions and assertions that were not properly tested. The very fact that the land at Lye Green is now listed as an ACV underlines its informal recreational value (which is one of the few uses encouraged under Green Belt designation) and as such this listing supports our contention that this Green Belt site, at least, has been incorrectly bought forward for allocation for development.
• We also assert that now the land is listed as an ACV, it really should be removed from any allocation for development in the Local Plan and it should be retained in Green Belt. This is because any allocation for development is (like the grant of planning permission) only going to add to the land’s financial value and would therefore undermine the very principles of the community’s right to bid afforded under the Localism Act 2011.  This principle was adopted following a similar decision passed down in the Court of Appeal last year in the case of Banner Homes vs St Albans City & District Council 2018. 
• We will be asking the Inspector to consider this precedent and the perverse implications of leaving an Asset of Community Value allocated for development in the Local Plan therefore.

We urge anyone still contemplating making a Regulation 19 Submission under the current (now extended) consultation process to consider this too when drafting their comments to the Inspector! 

We are also heartened by the many messages of support and the continuing donations through our CrowdJustice portal to fund the legal & professional fees we are incurring to protect this land and the wider town from the effects of its inappropriate development.

Thanks again for your continued support

The BNG Team

The pressure is on Chesham and the surrounding areas' residents to make a response submission to the Chiltern & South Bucks Local Plan by the looming deadline of Midnight July 19th.  

The process seems over-complicated and the Council have not made it easy or intuitive on their website to know what needs to be done.  (Ref:  https://www.chiltern.gov.uk/planning/localplan).

Here at BNG, we have tried to remove some of the mistique around submitting a response by giving you an idea of what needs to be said and how.   Check out our new How To Respond web page for full guidance on getting a meaningful response in on time.

We all need to play our part in preventing this daft ( I mean draft)  Local Plan becoming a reality.  Please make a submission and encourage as many of your friends and families to do the same.  We need to make as much noise about this as possible so that the Planning Inspector gets a real sense of the anger around this Local Plan.

Thanks for your continued support.

​Th BNG Team

If you weren't able to make it into the Memorial Hall on Wednesday Night....

South Bucks and Chiltern District Councils are preparing to publish their Emerging Local Plan.  The Local Plan will then be submitted for formal scrutiny by an independent Inspector at a future public inquiry.
 
Lobbying councillors is now irrelevant and the campaign is now dependant on what legal evidence and planning issues the community can submit to an Inspector. 
 
The Local Plan still includes:

• removal of all the land at Lye Green from Green Belt status
• (initial) plans for 500 homes, plus a community hub
•  5,000 sq ft shop
• 15 gypsy traveller pitches

All this will affect the town of Chesham.  

The Council has also only recently announced removal of twelve villages from Green Belt including Botley & Ley Hill.   This is disappointing, but our campaign is far from over!  

PLEASE COME TO THIS MEETING AND TELL OTHERS WHO MAY BE INTERESTED TO FIND OUT;

• WHAT BNG ARE DOING TO PROTECT OUR LOCAL GREEN BELT & THE TOWN
• HOW TO MAKE YOUR COMMENTS TO THE INSPECTOR AND WHY YOU SHOULD 
• WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP

The community will shortly have just 6 weeks in which to make final comments on these unsustainable proposals once the Draft Plan is published.   This is your last chance to persuade the Council of their folly before we get into the formal consultation/Public Planning Inquiry process. 

FUNDS
We also need to raise more money as we have now retained expert consultants to advise and comment on issues of Landscape Quality, Green Belt, Sustainability, Traffic & Air Quality. In addition, we have retained a barrister from Landmark Chambers to represent us at the future Planning Inquiry Examination in Public.  

Please make any donations to BNG via the methods on our website.
please visit:  www.brownnotgreen.com/fundraising

​LEAFLET VOLUNTEERS
Our campaign would be nothing without our ever-willing cohort of leaflet volunteers.  This is a small band of very dedicated individuals who have worked tirelessly distributing leaflets around the Chesham neighbourhoods.  We are always looking for extra volunteers who wish to play a role whilst getting fitter and healthier at the same time!  We are particularly keen to hear from volunteers in the Eksdale Avenue and White Hill areas of Chesham.   Can you help?  Contact us via the website if you can.

SOCIAL MEDIA VOLUNTEER REQUIRED
We urgently require an individual who can pick up social media responsibility for the Brown Not Green Campaign.  Although we have our webmaster and email communication roles covered, a lack of time and expertise mean we are not maximising our communications over social media.  We need someone who would be prepared to take on full responsibility for feeding our social media outlets to get our message out to as many people as possible.  Might ideally suit a graduate who wishes to add another skill set to their CV.  All applications considered.  Please contact us via the website if you can help in this area.

Thanks again for your continued support.

​The BNG Team.

Chiltern District Council are meeting this Wednesday, May 15th to discuss and approve the Publication Version of the Chiltern and South Bucks Local Plan.

This is despite the fact there being no further evidence work that BNG had been promised by the Planning Department around the area of:
​​

• Sustainability
• Traffic generation
• "Exceptional Circumstances" as required by the National Planning Policy Framework.
  
  

​From our understanding the District Councillors have not been made aware of any further evidence around these areas.  If they have, they are keeping it quiet.   BNG cannot understand how they will be able to approve publication of a Local Plan that removes the fields to the North-East of Chesham, known as Lye Green, without first seeing this crucial evidence.  If there is evidence that is being held back, BNG feel it would be a cynical ploy for the Council to dump it all on the Evidence Base at the last minute to thwart our efforts to properly scrutinise it before the end of the 6-week Consultation Period.

Sadly, our efforts to communicate with all our District Councillors have been met with a stony wall of silence, something we as a campaign group will be considering when recommending which Councillors to vote for in the upcoming Unitary Council elections,   The Councillors who have been genuinely helpful to our cause are in the absolute minority.  There has been a shameful lack of acknowledgement to our efforts to communicate with them from our elected Councillors and this will not be overlooked next time their names appear on the ballot paper.

For this reason it is essential we have as many supporters as possible attend this meeting that is open to the public at the:
Council Chamber, King George V House, King George V Road, Amersham
The meeting starts at 6.30pm, on Wednesday May 15th.
Full details click here

As well as attending the meeting, we also now need everyone to write to their local District Councillor.  Letters are better, emails are OK, both is best.  A template letter and instructions can be found by clicking here.  We, at BNG, cannot stress enough to our supporters that we have as many people as possible at that meeting and also writing letters and emails to their Councillors.  Please spread the word and let's make some noise.

Further Action To Take

If you live on land bordering the Greenbelt under threat or are a habitual user of the fields and woodland for recreational purposes like walking. etc. please also see our pages:

• Asset of Community Value
• Gate Owners' Prescriptive Rights
• Public Rights of Way

​You can still legally play a key role in protecting our Greenbelt just from your everyday activities.  Again, this requires urgent action so please click the links above.

Thanks again to everyone in our continuing support.   We are getting to the "business end of the season" in this fight to protect our Greenbelt.  If everyone does a little bit, we will be far more powerful than a few doing a lot.

​The BNG Team

We urgently need written responses from local residents by the end of the next week (by Friday 26th April) as we go through the process of registering the fields around Lye Green as an Asset of Community Value (ACV).

The urgency is as a result of the revised Timetable for the Emerging Local Plan about to be formally adopted on 29th April by the Council.  We need eight weeks to get our ACV registered/considered before the end of any Plan consultation period and ideally before its publication. 

To support the ACV we urgently need as much evidence from the community as possible.  A member of the BNG Team has drafted his own Statutory Declaration and about 60 photographs but the support of others in the community is vital to our success.

The test we must pass to get the Local Authority to list the land as an ACV is that:
The land “…. furthers the social wellbeing or social interests of the local community, and it is realistic to think it will continue to do so in the next five years.”  

We propose to argue that it does this due to the widespread and habitual use of the land for decades for informal outdoor recreation including;
“hiking/rambling, dog walking, bird watching, jogging, and general outdoor exercise but that use has also included observing nature and local wildlife with family and children, kite flying, practicing for Duke of Edinburgh expeditions and socialising with like-minded people from the immediate neighbourhood”. 

We will be claiming these uses have taken place not just on the public footpaths but also on the many other well-trodden tracks around most of the boundaries and through the woods. Most of these can be seen from space using Google Earth!  

Ideally, those who have lived in the area for more than 20 years would provide the most persuasive evidence because twenty years' use grants “rights of prescription” to that user.  NB:  This is especially relevant to any local person who has installed a rear gate on their property that affords them direct access to the land that the landowner has never complained about. We have counted about eighteen such gates around the field! 

However, we also need anyone who can attest to the unrestrained use of the land by themselves or the public regardless of how long they have lived here or whether their house borders the site or not.

Our Planning Barrister has advised that statements and letters from any member of the community can also describe other people’s use, e.g.:
“from my kitchen window/garden I regularly see families playing with kites on the field, people walking their dogs and I have seen numerous camping / DoE expeditions over the years… I would estimate that I see dog walking across the field every day, whereas children tend to be in the warmer months and particularly at the weekends….  Family events happen across the year but especially in the warmer months…. I remember specifically when… …. “or “I have lived here for 30 years and through that time…” etc. 

We also need to know if anyone has ever had any complaint from the landowner(s) asking them to get off the land.  Have the Landowners taken action against anyone using the land on areas away from the public footpaths?

In a nutshell we need:

• Letters or signed statements from as many local people who can either attest to their own use for 20+ years or
• that they have observed many others using the land for however long they have lived here.

We will not be submitting a copy of anyone’s statement/letter to the Council without confirming via legal advice that there can be no complaint of trespass brought against any individual.

POST EDIT:  IMPORTANT:  Legal Advice received says that to avoid any (slight) risk of liability for trespass, you are strongly recommended NOT to self-incriminate or say you & your family have used the land other than via the various public footpaths that cross the land unless you have lived here for more than 20 years.  Legal advice received also suggests that you can feel safe to state that you have  regularly walked on areas away from the public footpaths or upon on the other parts of the land only If you or your family have lived here for 20 years + (Note:  19 years 11 months is not enough!)
NB: People living here less than 20 years should only affirm what they have seen other unnamed people doing.

Letters should be addressed (but NOT sent) to the Council:
Community Right to Bid - Chiltern District Council
King George V House
King George V Road, 
Amersham,
Buckinghamshire
HP6 5AW
 
Letters should forwarded/delivered to (for collective submission):
Brown Not Green Chesham Ltd,
2 Deer Park Walk,
Chesham Bucks HP5 3LJ

WE WOULD REALLY LIKE THESE ASAP or by the end of next week if possible (Friday 26 April).

If YOU WOULD LIKE GUIDANCE NOTES ON HOW TO WRITE A LETTER OR MAKE A STATEMENT OF TRUTH IN SUPPORT OF THIS APPLICATION PLEASE CONTACT US THROUGH THE WEBSITE.

Thanks very much in advance for your prompt action.  This may well be a key opportunity in our fight to save the Green Bet around Lye Green being developed.

The BNG Team