Council to seek legal advice on village green bid

Ryhall Parish Council wants to turn this piece of land in Ryhall into a village green

An application to create a village green will be subject to an independent review after councillors decided not to follow a recommendation to reject the plan.

Ryhall Parish Council made an application to Rutland County Council to make a field near Ryhall Meadow into a community space.

But planning officers said it should be refused as it did not meet the legal criteria.

The county council's planning committee said they would seek independent legal advice before any further decision is made.

Registered ownership

The Commons Act 2006 gives the county council the power to register land as a village green, where an application is made that can show that "a significant number of residents" have used it for "lawful sports and pastimes" for at least 20 years, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

At the time the council was unaware who owned the land and had made the application because the green space had been used for several decades by villagers as a common space for exercise and leisure.

However, on the last day of a public consultation last September, an objection was received by the landowner, who has since registered his ownership of the land.

Due to the land being part of a Government environmental stewardship scheme between 2006 to 2016, officers agreed with the landowner he had granted permission for the villagers to use the land and due to the permission, the council officers recommended that the application be rejected, as the 20 year "as of right" use could not be evidenced.

Councillor David Wilby, who lives in the village, said the land is currently on the market and developers had been looking at the area.