00:00We're here in Basin Hill and just introduce yourself guys.
00:03I'm Terry Trickett, I'm the Secretary of Friends of the Glebe that was formed in November 2023
00:09to help protect this very precious green space in the heart of our village.
00:14And sir?
00:15And I'm Mark Underwood a resident of Basin Hill and I'm the Chair of the Friends of the Glebe
00:18but I'm also on the Paris Council.
00:20So this this green behind you it's been used by the community for since 1940s time hasn't it?
00:26It's since 1949 the community have had access to it unrestricted access to it
00:31and we've had dog walkers regularly using it we've had community events on there
00:35the scouts used to use it when they were in the HQ which they've now
00:39had to they've had had to leave because the diocese have given notice on their lease up there.
00:44So yeah it's owned by Diocese of Lichfield,
00:47why they've fenced it off they've locked they're kind of shutting the community out
00:50what what's their what's their reasoning behind that?
00:52Well we've we've been informed that they've the the land the land agent
00:56Balfour's has been advised by a barrister that they need to fence it off to ensure that
01:01if they put an application in Shropshire are not able to assume that the whole area is open space
01:06which then has an impact on the amount of open space that Shropshire Council are able to
01:10insist upon on a new development so it does seem to be all about maximising the housing
01:14housing density maximising the value.
01:17I actually did ask them to hold off the fencing because it was going to be
01:21a very seen as a very negative action it was going to not do the local church's
01:27reputation much good within the village and could they not wait for six months while the
01:32village green application that I've submitted is determined and or an application for housing
01:37is determined yeah but unfortunately no they've insisted they've got to fence it off.
01:42Yeah well we can as you can see today from the amount of people this is a this is a green space
01:48that is used regularly yeah we've had stories coming in this week of elderly residents in tears
01:56with their dogs can't access because they've not only put the fence up here they've fenced off
02:01every footpath that crosses that people have been using for decades people are so devastated
02:11they are so upset they cannot believe that the diocese would choose to do this
02:16to baston hill yeah especially as the church it became an ecclesiastical parish of the church of
02:22england in 1843 we cannot believe that they're doing that to our village yeah I have I have a
02:28picture here actually that very very well shows the importance of the village to important to
02:34the glebes to the village yeah and it just gives it just shows you how central um and I can I can
02:40share with you on the video it just shows how central the glebelands is
02:45it's right bang in the middle of the village it's the only remaining piece of open space that we
02:49have left yeah and what I can't understand and frustrates me is that a new development
02:54is expected to provide provide open space for the houses that are on the new development
02:58but there seems to be no account taken of the existing houses and this piece of green space
03:03has been made available to us as a community and all we're really asking of appealing to the
03:09diocese to to sector to rethink what they want to do uh and and and to give it back and to show
03:16some compassion and give it back to the village for them to be able to continue to be used parish
03:21council are more than happy to take on board the routine maintenance of it as they have been since
03:261949 so terry behind you is the scouts building there which um they they were using until um
03:39the diocese basically couldn't guarantee their lease which resulted in them not being able to
03:44get qualified for grants to yeah that's my understanding because um because obviously
03:50in order to um improve scout huts and things like that they they do need to be able to say we can
03:57continuously use this land so obviously by the diocese refusing to extend the lease for the
04:05parish council and for the scouts then obviously it means they can't access those grants so at the
04:11moment the scouts don't really have a permanent base which is absolutely so appalling because
04:18there are so many children including my husband who's now 64 who was a boy scout yeah and my
04:26sister-in-law was a girl guide in baston hill and the field at the back there where we feel
04:32ultimately houses are going to be built that seems to be what what people are you know what
04:36the plan is that's what the diocese want yeah we the village will lose our last central green space
04:44it will take the heart out of the village it's like somebody actually said it's the lungs of
04:49the village yeah it's the green it's the ancient trees well you've got memories of a nanny bringing
04:56your children over i do there's my my in-laws yeah would lived on on this hill road um since
05:04the early 1960s and um and granny used to bring my two children from toddlers to go and play on the
05:12glebe yeah and then as the boys grew up they used it for football they went to the christ church
05:19um youth club um we've been to there was the carnival we've been to numerous events here
05:26and you'd say even guide dogs make use of the land yes so guide dogs for the blind um actually
05:31wrote a supporting statement because for the friends that go for um mark underwood's um village
05:37green because it's they they consider it a really really good site yeah to train their guide dog
05:43puppies yeah so they are absolutely devastated as well terry you were a bit flummoxed the day
05:49before this this was fenced off and taken from the community we're just looking at the diocese
05:54of litchfield website here and there's a news item about how they've worked with the community
05:59to protect the green village indeed they've worked with um a community in staffordshire
06:06and they have actually said the diocesan secretary julie jones has said this is a wonderful example
06:12of being able to work together with the village for the common good of the community the church
06:17is about is about more than just providing worship caring for the environment is one of the key areas
06:25of activities for our church it's a lovely thing to do and a fantastic gift for future generations
06:32said a villager who'd also been working with the diocese so you just feel that's very much at odds
06:38with what you're seeing absolutely devastating and appalled i've heard from lots of the villagers
06:43who just could not believe that that was put out and then within 24 48 hours we had spiked fences
06:53around our glebe cutting off all our footpaths so terry this this was the scout building
07:00until the diocese basically kicked them out is that effective yeah i think my understanding
07:06is that the the scout hut um needs to be would have needed to be refurbished
07:13and because the diocese would no longer um guarantee a tenure at least a 10-year lease
07:21they can't actually get the grants and the funding that they would need yeah
Comments