Campaigners want to designate Portishead Lake Grounds as town green

“ps I do hope the Lake Grounds Ward Councillor, who recently objected (after the project had been finalised) to the Battery Point Bell funding, will similarly object to local authority funds being spent in a time of austerity measures on adminstration costs for the town green application and presumably any legal costs that may arise? Or perhaps the minority resident group under the name "Association" have agreed to foot the local authority costs as well as their own?

Comment Red Arrowed Personally. Now those initials co-incidentally sum up the incorrect information in the public domain on this subject.”

“The law around "Town Green Status" is complex but interesting. The following extract is quite pertinent tothe Lake Grounds in Portishead where a select "Association" of residents has excluded other residents in the lake grounds and adjacent roads, from not only participating in their "latest" survey because evidence shows they chose not to include them in the leaflet drop (the last survey of many incidentally where all previous outcomes were not as they desired),but many of the residents were also not included in previous surveys by the ward councillor who has recently given his support to this "Association" after many years of being the leading voice against the skatepark in his Ward. Tonight at town council evidence will be provided of all the previous surveys and the manner in which those surveys were undertaken. Some interesting quotes from the local authority will be included as well as correspondence from the authority to the local MP who became involved voicing opinion against the skatepark, despite the fact he did not know all the facts. The evidence and facts are clear. Voices cannot be censored tonight (although they can be curtailed by time). So sad that written material giving the facts has been censored in the last week leading up to the "Association's" meeting on Sunday.

Town Green Extract

"The legal test for the registration of greens, requiring a connection between the land and its use by a significant number of the local community, also demonstrates features of property
law (we see this combining of public and private law features in the Whitstable
beach inquiry - discussed further below - in which the potential frustration of the
application to register the beach as a green by the use of the land by 'outsiders'
showed a veering towards a private property-oriented approach, fostering an idea
of exclusive ownership)".

The small group of people within the "Association" seem to similarly be fostering an idea of exclusive rights to the Lake Grounds preventing other significant numbers from using the area as it was designated for. Community use. Community use in Portishead means ALL members of the community including our town's youth.

The application they have submitted is unlikely to succeed because they are a minority group and their application ignores the needs of the significant community to use the Lake Grounds.
If their town green application was to prevent commercial development, this probably would have succeeded. However, the fact this "Association" has submitted it to prevent a non commercial, free for all, open air wheels park for Portishead which would cater for the massive increase in youth population of the town, not only is indicative of the "Association's" wish to prevent a wheels park which already has planning permission, but demonstrates how applying for town green status is likely to rebound on the applicant because they are ignoring the needs of the wider local community.

Incidentally, note to the reporter, in the interest of balanced reporting, why isn't there a quote from PSP or other residents who support the wheels park at the Lake Grounds?

(I have pressed the red arrow as usual on this comment and if shortly it becomes unavailable to be viewed, then the "Association" will have succeeded in once again stilting discussion).”

“Judging by the photo it would be a better idea to flatten the lot and build on it.

It's pretty ugly already.”

“garton, there has been no upkeep to the area. It has been neglected for a long while but obviously the short sightedness of these people couldn't or don't want to see that. It is a cynical ploy to prevent the skate park, nothing more, nothing less.”

“Just one more attempt by the Portishead gerontocracy to keep young people out of the Lake Grounds.”

“Residents? Who exactly were the 'residents', I live a short stroll from there and was never asked. Was it just those whose property overlook the lake grounds? I'm sure it's not just them paying for the upkeep and well being of the the area, just another cynicle ploy .....”