GOLF CLUBS ALLOTMENT HOLDERS AGAIN

19-04-2008

Blundering Council officials allowed two thirds of a popular Birmingham allotment to be taken out of commission. Now, as Mark Jackson reports, the Golf Club which owns the land is coming back for the rest.

Moseley Golf Club (MGC) declared this week that it’s appealing against Birmingham Council’s decision last September to reject an application to turn a portion of the site – currently defined for use as community allotments - into a driving range.

It’s just the latest development in an ongoing row which has pitched(!) the club against those of us who like to grow our own food there – of which, I’m proud to say, I’m one.

To understand how we’ve got to this point, it’s important to understand a little bit of history.

The land has been used by gardeners since the 1920’s and that practice continued for many years even after the Golf Club bought the site in 1939 and developed the rest of it for their sport.

It wasn’t until 2002 that the golfers indicated that they wouldn’t be renewing the lease on the three acres of allotments – a move which prompted the Council to try and acquire the land using a Compulsory Purchase Order.

That led to a public enquiry which resulted in a “compromise” position - the Golf Club agreed to lease less than an acre of the site to the Council for allotments, and the remaining 2 acres were to be bulldozed.

The Council chose not to pursue a second Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) even though the Planning Inspector’s decision at the first enquiry was set aside by The High Court in October 2003. The Inspector wrongly believed that any use of CPO powers must a “an action of last resort.”

The decision of Birmingham Council’s legal team not to make the Inspector aware that the use of CPO powers does not have to be “an action of last resort” contributed to a legally flawed decision...and it's this mistake which has proved costly for us allotment holders.

It led the loss of the majority of the allotment site; the removal of mostly female plot holders with young children and the payment of £145,000 in legal costs to MGC’s lawyers Wragge and Co by the Council.

Despite that subsequent victory in the High Court, the Council conveniently “forgot” that it had identified the land as legally “required” to satisfy the demand for allotments. They also indicated to the Golf Club that they would not pursue a second CPO because it would be too expensive.

Instead, the Council ordered existing allotment holders to halve their previous plot sizes so that they could all be accommodated on the newly reduced site.

Since the start of this ‘new’ downsized site, waiting lists have risen not only at Billesley Lane but also on all other Moseley allotments. The high cost of fuel, the wish to grow good organic food and the agendas of health and exercise have all added to the resurgence in interest.

The Golf Club’s decision to remove community access to the most protected and publicly supported land use reflects the weakness of current legislation – and the unpredictability of the planning process.

Protect a great community asset by objecting now to the Golf Club’s appeal.


Anyone wishing to make comments on this application APP/P4605/A/08/2069386/NWF must do so by writing IN TRIPLICATE by the 26th May 2008 to:
Ms Jenny Howland (Case Officer)
Temple Quay House
2 The Square
Temple Quay
Bristol
BS1 6PN

(See also BBC news and Birminghamfoe)