Southwater has a new village green.
The decision to register open space next to Nutham Lane and Cedar Drive was taken by West Sussex County Council’s planning and rights of way committee yesterday.
Charles Fentiman, who submitted the application to register the land, said he did so to ‘safeguard it from potential developments’.
The land is owned by Southwater Parish Council and is protected by a restrictive covenant requiring it to only be used as a public open space.
But a report to the committee advised that such covenants can be removed and, while the current parish councillors had no intention of doing so, there was no guarantee that it would not be done in the future.
Mr Fentiman, who has lived in the village for 30 years, said: “The green space is valuable for the wildlife, biodiversity, as well as the people that are using it.
“The field [is] very much appreciated by the local community that clearly wish to continue using it without the threat of some kind of future development.”
Ward member Nigel Jupp said it was ‘prudent and appropriate’ that the area becomes a village green.
And Trevor Bence (Reform UK, Fontwell) referred to the pressures councils are currently under, particularly with the looming changes relating to devolution and local government reorganisation.
Sharing concerns that future councils may decide to sell the land for development, he said of the village green designation: “I really believe that this would be a brilliant move to protect what is clearly a useful piece of land for the public.”
Committee members were satisfied that all the legal tests needed to make the change had been met and voted unanimously to register the land as a village green.
