There could be three new Town Greens registered in Bristol this month.
The ‘Laundry Field’ was voluntarily declared as a TVG by the landowners this week following and agreement with Snuff Mills Action Group.
The next meeting of the Council’s Pulic Rights of Way & Greens Committee (PROWG) will consider recommendations to declare two sites in Bristol as Town or Village Greens (TVG) – Wellington Hill Playing Field & a site at Bramble Drive, Sneyd Park. The committee is being recommended to reject the application for third site, Tackley Green.
The papers for the PROWG meeting, to be held on Monday 27th January, can be seen here. There are separate reports for the three sites to be considered at the meeting and a further report giving an update on other current applications, including the Laundry Field.
The site on a Roundabout at Bramble Drive is privately owned land and the land owner is not objecting to the application.
The other two sites to be considered at the meeting are owned by the Council. The application for Wellington Hill Playing Field was made in October 2010 with the support of Friends of Horfield Common. The Council objected to the application in May 2011 and it was referred to an independent inspector but then in December 2013 the Council withdrew its objection. The land was held by the Council for educational use rather than public open space.
The recommendation for a rejection of the application for Tackley Green is on the basis that the land is held by the Council as public open space and therefore there is an implied permission for the public to use it. Use of the land was therefore ‘by right’ (with permission) and not ‘as of right’ (without force, secrecy or permission) as required for the land to be registered as a TVG.
If the recommendations are followed then the two new sites will bring the total number of Town or Village Greens in Bristol registered under the 2006 Commons Act to seven. In addition there are fourteen registered under the Commons Registration Act 1965 and five areas of Common Land.
All these areas (including the newly registered Laundry Field) are now shown on the Council’s mapping system. The full list, including links to each area on the mapping system can be seen via the link below: