Date set for inquiry into long-running row over village green near Shrewsbury

A date has been confirmed for a public inquiry into a row over a village green - and locals are gearing up for the fight.

The Glebelands in Bayston Hill near Shrewsbury will be the subject of an inquiry in front of an independent barrister at Shropshire Council’s Guildhall headquarters from December 1 to 3 after residents submitted a village green application.

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Villagers, who have enjoyed use of the land for many years for football matches and events like the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, want it to be kept for the community.

However the Lichfield Diocese, which owns the land, wants to build homes there. A planning application was submitted in 2023, which was met with a tidal wave of 200 objections from outraged residents before it was withdrawn.

Villager Mark Underwood applied to register the land as a village green and now an inquiry will take place in December.

Before that, residents are holding a meeting at the Bayston Hill Memorial Hall in Lyth Hill Road on Friday, November 6 at 7pm.

Bayston Hill councillor Teri Trickett, who has been involved in the dispute to stop homes being built on the land before she was elected, said of the inquiry: “This is where we get the opportunity to tell an independent barrister our side of the story.

“They are arguing that the village always had to ask permission to use it. We’re arguing that we never had to seek permission.

“We’ve been campaigning since the planning application went in. If we do win, we want to do something really good with it.”

For the village green application to be granted, the Bayston Hill villagers have to prove:

• That a significant number of the inhabitants of any locality, or of any neighbourhood within a locality, indulged as of right in lawful sports and pastimes on the land for a period of at least 20 years.
• That they continued to do so at the date of the application.

It is the "as of right" part of the legislation that is being disputed.

The field, next to Christ Church, has been a core part of Bayston Hill since 1949 when the diocese first leased it to villagers.

Over the years, it has hosted fairs, events, Scouts, and is popular for dog walking. However, two years ago, metal fences were put up, preventing people from accessing the land.

At the time, the diocese said that while it understood the upset caused, the fences had to go up "to protect its interests".

Mr Underwood's application to make the site a village green was recently presented to Shropshire Council's northern planning committee, where members were asked to appoint a barrister to act as an inspector for the inquiry.

The report says there is a "fundamental conflict" of evidence between the applicant and objectors as to whether the use of the land has been "by right" or "as of right", explaining there is an important legal distinction between the two.