The Battle for Broxhead Common
Common land since time immemorial
The epic blow-by-blow story for riders’ rights, by Maureen Comber
I will be serialising the Story of the Battle for Broxhead Common from the beginning of the problems in 1963 when the owner of Headley Wood Farm, started fencing in the 80 acres of Broxhead’s common land, for it surely did not go unnoticed at the time and has been a cause of discontent ever since.
Broxhead Common has been identified as common land since time immemorial.
Says Maureen:
“In 2017 I made application under sec.19 Commons Act 2006 to correct the Register of Common Land because of ‘mistakes’ made by the Commons Registration Authority, which in this case was Hampshire County Council. (HCC). I knew that because of the ‘interest’ they have in Broxhead Common the matter could not be decided by them but would have to go to the Planning Inspectorate.”
The Case for Hampshire County Council – PART 140
Baigents Hill
Para 24 & 46 “There is no evidence of an express dedication having been made, and it is therefore necessary to rely on the evidence of use to demonstrate implied dedication either at statute or common law.”
This would only be possible if the FA 1910 map and Record Book evidence are ignored. I would like to know why the necessary historical proof that the land was declared public open space is not being considered.
In Mrs Slade’s own words for another PI, “The valuation process instigated by the Finance Act 1910 allowed for deductions to be claimed by the landowner when his land was valued for the purposes of collecting the various types of tax. Deduction in the value could be claimed in relation to the encumbrance owing to the existence of public rights affecting the property. It was also possible to claim a deduction for fixed charges, rights of common and easements. Easements are rights enjoyed by the owner of land over property owned by another person. They also are private rights.”
So why was this evidence not correctly evaluated?
Para 29: “I can place little weight on her evidence as a consequence, and this affects the evidence of Ms Henwood with whom she rode”. Why should this be? Miss Henwood sadly passed away within the previous six years. Otherwise, she would have been present to support her own statement. She tended to be a much more positive character than her friend. Maybe Miss Kerr’s use of the Order route after 1985 was rare, but it goes back a long time; that is not to say it did not happen.
Para 35 needs to demonstrate more consistency in its approach. It is a matter of opinion whether the frequency of use was low, but there is no mention of the 13 alleged challenges said to have been made. None of these were to the claimants; they would have been over and above the claimed users.
Neither has the question put forward by Mr Colbourne been explored that the only PROWs leading onto Broxhead Common from the north are Cradle Lane and Headley FP48. Both have been the subject of reported obstructions and/or repeated TROs for many years. Could this have reduced their use by walkers and/or riders and, consequently, the use of the claimed paths?
Next time: my notes continued.
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