Agenda item

13.1 GTP/TVG01/2014 -  Newry Beach and Greens, Holyhead

13.1    GTP/TVG01/2014 – Application to register land as a Town or Village Green (TVG) at Newry Beach and Greens, Holyhead

The matter was reported to the Planning an Orders Committee as the Isle of Anglesey County Council is the Registration Authority for its area for the purposes of the Commons Act 2006.The Registration Authority is responsible for determining applications to register land as new town or village green (TVG) under the Act. Under the Council’s Constitution, full Council has allocated the responsibility to determine TVG applications to the Planning and Orders Committee

The Legal Officer reported that the history of the application and how it has been dealt with is summarised in the Officer’s report. As the law of TVG is specialised and complicated, Officers of the Isle of Anglesey County Council as the Registration Authority took advice from Mr Jeremy Pike, a barrister with expertise in the subject.On 31 March, 2016, Mr Pike provided written advice to the Registration Authority on the application, the objections made to it and the further submissions received from the Applicant (the Waterfront Action Group) and principal objectors (Stena Line Ports Ltd. and Conygar Stena Line Limited). Mr Pike advised that the application did not make a prima facie case for registration. Mr Pike also advised that the Registration Authority should not determine the application until evidence and arguments had been heard on certain matters as detailed in his advice. In accepting the advice, Officers of the Registration Authority instructed Mr Pike to act as inspector at a non-statutory public inquiry into the application and then to prepare a report in light of the evidence presented with a recommendation as to how the Registration Authority should determine the application. The report by Mr Pike included as an appendix to the Head of Function’s report, sets out the evidence presented at the public inquiry which was held between 3 and 7 October, 2016 at Holyhead Town Hall.

The report by Mr Pike concludes at paragraph 296 that “use of the land was “by right” and not “as of right” for the whole of the Relevant Period because the Council held it and made it available for such use, and because until 2007 the whole of the land was subject to Byelaws, which either caused any sports and pastimes on the Land to be unlawful rather than lawful, or alternatively when considered in conjunction with the lease to the Council gave rise to the grant of permission to the public use to the land.” His recommendation therefore is that the land cannot be registered at this time and that the application must be rejected. The Officer recommends that Mr Pike’s recommendation and conclusions should be accepted and that the Registration Authority should reject the application.

The Legal Officer informed the Committee that following the receipt of Mr Pike’s report by the Council, Professor Emeritus Terence Looker on behalf of the Waterfront Action Group sent an e-mail on 23 February, 2017 to the Council’s Legal Services Manager which included a statement for inclusion with the agenda papers for this meeting. On the same day, the Legal Services Manager distributed that report to Members of the Committee. The statement was also sent to the Solicitors for Conygar Stena Line Ltd; they confirmed in an e-mail dated 23 February that they had no comments to make other than to note that the statement by Professor Looker contained nothing relevant to the Council’s consideration of the report resulting from the Public Inquiry. On 23 February also, the Legal Services Manager sent a copy of the statement from the Waterfront Action Group to Mr Jeremy Pike with the request that he let it be known if he considered that the statement in any way affected his report and recommendation. Mr Pike confirmed on the 28 February, 2017 that having considered the representation made along with the e-mail from the Objector’s Solicitor, the applicant’s further statement does not touch upon any matter within his report or its recommendation, and that there was nothing therefore that he needed to add to what is said in the report.

The Committee is invited to agree with the recommendation of the Officer’s report for the reasons set out in the report to the Council by Mr Jeremy Pike, Barrister.

Councillor R. Llewelyn Jones spoke as a Local Member. He thanked the Council for holding the Public Inquiry which afforded the residents of the locality the opportunity to make known their sentiments with regard to the matter. The Inquiry demonstrated that Newry Beach and Greens are sacrosanct to the local community. Although disappointed with the outcome, the people of Holyhead look forward to working constructively with Conygar Stena Line Limited to improve the area and hope they will be have regard to local concerns.

It was resolved that the Planning and Orders Committee acting on behalf of the Council as Registration Authority  rejects application

GTP/TVG/01/2014 to register land at Newry Beach and Greens, Holyhead in accordance with the Officer’s recommendation for the reasons set out in the report by Mr Jeremy Pike, Barrister. (Councillor John Griffith abstained from voting)