| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Another chunk of Common disappears under concrete | |
| Posted by: | John Cameron | |
| Date/Time: | 15/01/19 10:37:00 |
| The path running on the north side of Beverley Brook is common, and continues to be so where it meets the towpath. The land to west between the path and the Sea Scout hut is also common. All common, all protected against enclosure, building etc etc. Clearly the works on Barn Elms are going to happen, but what is the justification for taking half the Beverley Brook path, and on what terms did the WPCC agree to this. Levy payers don’t need to be reminded that the WPCC have an unenviable track record of losing land permanently to shady deals that fly under the radar. 1. Common Land at PH was enclosed by a hoarding for many years, it was completely unnessary. No payment was made. Lee at one point tried to rent part of Putney Common for advertising hoardings. 2. The Spencer beer garden was common and is now a beer garden 6 months of the year. Whatever your feelings about this, it is a commercial beer garden. No advice was taken as to values, and senior management of the WPCC lied to the WBC’s planning department as did the applicant to get the planning permission through. The beer garden damaged the common in a very significant way this summer, with swathes of bare patches and holes dug by dogs. The damage has not been repaired, which is a condition of the planning permission. 3. The Putney Town Bowls Club is common, but now owned by WBC who have no intention of ever handing it back. Lost. Forever. 4. The drive to the front and entire car park of the Royal Wimbledon Golf Club is common land. It is gated, landscaped and totally private to the club. The arrangement is described as temporary by the WPCC. It is not temporary, is permanant. 5. The Little Creatures nursery have multiple sites across Putney Common to run commercial nurseries. These sites cause significant damage to the common. With a track record like this why would anyone trust Lee and the WPCC. If they need to provide 50% of the pathway to be covered in concrete, why not be upfront about it, and explain clearly the reasons, the advice and the terms, including guarantees that the land will revert in a fixed timescale. Not too much to ask Barn Elms and the everything to the north / west of Beverley Brook is in Richmond, the border is the middle of the brook. But the commons extend to Richmond, much as they extend to Merton etc. The freehold of Barn Elms is owned by Wandsworth, (not Richmond) but Richmond have a lease. The Barn Elms playing fields are gaining a significant investment from Thames Tunnels R Us, so what is the WPCC getting? Concrete and a 3.6m tall wooden fence on a public footpath. |