Sponsored by
Residents win town's fight over open space
Campaigners won a landmark victory at the Supreme Court to save a seafront open space from developers.
A six-year battle by five local residents ended with the local council being ordered by the highest court in the land to register the common as a town or village green. The unanimous decision over the area at Redcar by five Justices is expected to have a major impact on similar campaigns to save green sites, according to lawyers.
Friends of Coatham Common had applied to have the local authority-owned land registered as a green under the Commons Act in their fight to stop a 55m housing-led development.
They had to show that "as of right" they had used the land for sports and pastimes for 20 years.
An inspector who conducted a public inquiry recommended the land should not be registered after he found that although it had been used for sports for decades, the locals had "deferred" to players when it was a golf course.
Both the High Court and Court of Appeal found in favour of the local council.
But Lord Walker, in the ruling yesterday, said he had "great difficulty" in seeing how a land owner would have concluded that residents were not asserting a right to take recreation on the land "simply because they normally showed civility – or in the inspector's word, deference – towards members of the golf club".
Irwin Mitchell, solicitors representing the campaigners, said the council's plans for housing had been dashed now that the land will be designated as a green space.
In spite of being adjacent to a special protected area of European importance for birds – planning permission was granted for the development in 2007.
Email to a friend
Print this page- Video: Deadline Day Live (the final hours)
- Leeds United close in on late transfer window signing
- Gary Speed sent suicide text to wife - but coroner says he may have ‘nodded off’ with noose around neck
- Have your say: Who should succeed Simon Grayson at Leeds United?
- Grayson sheds a tear over Leeds departure: First reaction to sacking
- Gingrich tipped for Florida battering
- £50bn ‘Boris Island’ airport plans step closer
- Tributes to father as Children in Need comedy act turns to tragedy
- Doncaster Rovers 0 Cardiff City 0: Rovers are united in common survival cause, says Coppinger
- Leeds refuse to be rushed into naming Grayson replacement
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 04 February 2012
Today
Heavy snow
Temperature: -2 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 1 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: West
