TCHCC – PART 35

The Battle for Broxhead Common

The Case for Hampshire County Council – PART 35

1. 3rd April 2009, a letter from the Inspectorate had said: “The Inspector will not have access to the appeal documents. It is therefore very important that you submit all the evidence you intend to rely upon to the Inspector in advance of the Inquiry, even if it was submitted as evidence for the Schedule 14 appeal.”
   2009 Planning Inspectorate to MC17022021
2. Page 14 of the Statutory Instruments of ROW Hearing and Inquiries Procedure (England) Rules, within the Guidance on Procedures for considering objections to Definitive Map and Public Path Orders 2008, under Procedure at the Inquiry, (3) Paragraph (2) shall not preclude the addition in the course of the inquiry of other issues for consideration or preclude any person entitled or permitted to appear at the inquiry from referring to other issues which he considers to be relevant to the inquiry.”
3. I was not surprised therefore, when many people turned up to the Public Inquiry because of their interest in Broxhead Common itself.
4. 25th September 2009, the Public Inquiry was held in Liphook. It turned out to be one of the most unpleasant experiences I have had to endure. A Kangaroo Court where the first thing the Planning Inspector said to those assembled was, that if they had come to hear about the ‘common’ then they would be disappointed as costs would be applied to anyone mentioning the word ‘common’. As the claimed path was on common land and led to further common land my case was completely nullified before the start!
5. In addition, instead of presenting the case as had been requested by the Planning Inspectorate, I was asked to take the witness stand where I spent the rest of the morning being pummelled by HCC’s legal bullies. Public Inquiries had now, it seemed, been hi-jacked by professionals.
6. 11th December 2009 is the date of the Planning Inspector’s decision. Unsurprisingly it is negative. She has discarded and ignored much of the historical evidence of access to the common land but crucially misled herself regarding ‘the public at large’.

Next time: I cannot live with such a fallacious decision.