Friends step up village green efforts

5:31pm Wednesday 21st May 2008

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VILLAGERS have stepped up their campaign to save a patch of wild land that will be "lost forever" if an access road to a major York housing development goes ahead.

Friends of Germany Beck held a meeting at Fulford Social Hall to discuss their application to create a village green on land east of Fordlands Road, to the north of Fulford Cemetery.

Local landowners have objected to the application and its fate will now be decided by a planning inspector at a public inquiry in October.

Persimmon Homes want to build the main access road to its 700-home Germany Beck housing development on the land.

If successful, the Friends' proposal would stop the road being built and force the developer to find an alternative access route.

The Friends group, made up of parish councillors and concerned residents, appealed to the more than 50 villagers assembled on Monday evening for evidence they have used the area.

Verna Campbell, chairwoman of Fulford Parish Council and member of the Friends, said they had to prove some specific points, in legal terms, for their bid to be successful.

She said: "In the legislation, a village green is an area that has been used by a significant number of inhabitants of a locality or neighbourhood within a locality, who have indulged, as of right, in lawful sports and pastimes for a period of 20 years or more.

"We think that space of land fits that criteria, but we're going to need your help to prove it."

She asked villagers to come forward as witnesses to give evidence at the inquiry, as well as providing photos of their families using the land.

Friends member David Wilkinson said the "as of right" condition was the most important. "This doesn't mean by right - what counts is if people have believed they have the right to use it," he said. "The presumption is that the land is common land."

He said they would have a good case if they could prove there was no fence preventing access to the site; no signs warning off trespassers; no one had been challenged by the landowners to leave the site; there was no secrecy involved in gaining access; no permission had been sought or given to use the site; and the land was not in agricultural use.

The access road will also cut Fordlands Road in two, breaking access to the cemetery from the south.

The Friends also appealed for contributions to their legal fund at the meeting.

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