UPDATE: 14th Feb. See this post…
The Village Green public enquiry held today at Chorlton Irish club was well attended by around 60 people. This preliminary inquiry focused on one very specific but key aspect: the two signs put up by UMIST in the 1970s – one near the entrance from Brookburn Road and one near the path from Jackson’s Boat bridge to Hardy Lane. All that remains of each sign now is a rusty post. The issue of the signs is likely to be the single most important in the outcome of the Village Green application, and the aim of today was to determine their effectiveness over the 20 year period covered by the Application.
As the applicants we were well represented by our Barrister, who called on 9 witnesses to be cross examined by the Objector’s Barrister (the Objector being the land owner). Questioning focussed around the positioning, maintenance and legibility of the signs over the past 20 years. Witnesses for the Applicants were very clear in conveying that the signs had been ineffective, illegible and in varying states of disrepair, and they all faired well under what was an intense bout of questioning by the Objector’s Barrister. The Objector’s Barrister called on 3 witnesses, one of whom was the landowner himself, who were cross examined by our Barrister.
After a lunch break, summing up statements were delivered by both sides. Judge Vivian Chapman will write a report detailing his recommendations to Manchester City Council as to whether the application should go further. We’re hoping this will be submitted before the end of the month. The general mood amongst those that attended was hopeful.
A huge amount of research and preparation was carried out by our Village Green Team, and we would like to publicly thank them all for their hard work over the previous year since the application was first submitted. We would also like to thank all those who provided evidence whether that be completing an evidence questionnaire, or taking the witness stand today…
So, a full year after its submission, the Village Green Application goes on – we are all quietly confident that we’ll be proceeding to the next step which means that the fundraising will need to continue. Legal representation in these cases is costly… not only will we require further funds for the next steps, but we are also short on covering our legal fees for today. So please donate what you can, or come along to our next fundraising event at Iguana Bar on 19th Jan, where we’ll be having an evening of Live Music.
Find out more details about the Live Music event at Iguana Bar here.
Click here to find out how to donate to the Village Green Appeal.
We will be reporting on the outcome of todays public enquiry as soon as we can… In the meantime, enjoy your leisure time on the meadows, as you have done for the last 20 years and more…!
