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 144
Continuing paragraph 49
The Inspector also says an accommodation road described in the Valuers Field Book may not necessarily be a public highway. The question must then be asked: why was it declared for a deduction of Increment Value Duty in 1910 if this was not the case?
Apart from this, she does not mention that in the 1787 map drawn for the Report of the Land Commissioners of Geo III, points B – C are quite clearly an extension of the byway or road, Cradle Lane. It is clearly labelled ‘road’ in the legend to the map. As Cradle Lane is a public road or byway, it must give weight to the conclusion that B – C is still a public road, for once a highway, always a highway.
Page 10 Whether there has been use by the public for the required period of 20 years.
Para 55 “To deviate from it onto an existing highway does not give that impression.” Except that the highway C102 is the only possible deviation, as the manorial waste between it and the claimed route was too overgrown with undergrowth to be passable. C – B was itself obstructed by the hurricane of 1988. Requests to HCC to have it cleared fell on deaf ears, even though an initially successful Judicial Review had led to an expectation by Mr Justice Sedley that the matter could be resolved by discussion and agreement.
It cannot, therefore, be correct for the Inspector to say on Page 11, para 56 that “there is simply no indication that it prompted any move to clarify the situation on the users’ part.” Evidence was produced in the bundle and at the Inquiry which showed otherwise.
Next time: my notes continue.
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