6 March 2017
Dear
Chairman Strelczenie,
Thank
you for your reply to my enquiry of 8 February 2017.
I
invite you to give a full account at the next public session of the Parish
Council of the efforts to “register Hagg Lane Green”.
The
Council’s questionable decision to exclude the Public and Press from part of its
December 2016 meeting has become a village farce. Councillors justified the exclusion because “a local group that had posted a cautionary
notice on the application.”
The
Press and Public cannot get details from the Parish Clerk because Councillors
chose to discuss the registration in secret.
They can get information directly from Ken McCann of the Hagg Lane Green
Conservation Society or from the ‘village grapevine’.
McCann’s
portrayal of the matter is the Conservation Society cannot get ownership of the
land and doesn’t want the Parish Council to own it. The Society acted on the cautionary note and
didn’t send a copy to the Parish Council because ‘We didn’t have to, so we
didn’t’.
You
confirmed Councillor Harrison was present but “did not get involved in the
discussion at either of the meetings.” After the secret session, she must have
known both sides of the argument about the ownership debate. She is a long serving member of the
Conservation Society, as is McCann who failed to gain a Council seat two years
ago.
Presumably, after the secret
session, she could have conveyed the Council’s thoughts and plans to the
Conservation Group.
Presumably,
Councillors discussed the Conservation Group’s objection on 15 December
2016. If it mentioned the village
lawnmower that caused a Council rumpus some years ago, it will verify the village
‘grape vine’ on Christmas day.
Surely,
applying for registration of land under “adverse possession” is a public
process. Statutory declarations from
neighbours or other third parties covering all matters of relevance may be
useful as corroborative evidence.
I
cannot believe the very limited circumstances under which Press and Public are excluded
from Council business apply in this matter.
Indeed, I argue that it is to the benefit of the Council and Public that
they must be fully informed about the matter.
They may have relevant information for or against the application, and there
may be financial consequences now and for years to come.
Most
of the Parish Councillors campaigned on the “needs to change and we aspire to
the following: Openness and honesty.” Your
views …. “need to be represented in a fair and honest manner to ensure that the
Village benefits from unbiased opinions and actions.”
I
support the Parish Council’s efforts to register Hagg Lane Green as an asset
for the village of Hemingbrough. I do
not like how the Council is managing the process. How do Councillors know if public knowledge
of local history gained from archives and libraries includes relevant
information?
Sincerely
