Crowds flock to Emergency Land Preservation meeting
The Baptist Chapel was packed last night (7th
January 2010) as more than 100 people attended a meeting by the
newly formed Emergency Land Preservation Committee.
The plot of land along Middle Street which is understood to be
owned by someone local, is being offered for sale by Pelhams estate
agent and locals are keen to purchase the land to keep it in it's
present state.
The Emergency Land Preservation group released the
following statement.
Thank you so much to those that managed to attend the
emergency meeting held last night (7th January 2010) in the
Baptist Chapel.
We apologise to the residents we were unable to contact in
time for the meeting. Please bear with us as things have
moved fast and at present we are small in numbers.
However the impact of this news is
substantial.
Before continuing, we are very grateful for the sense
of community we have here in Brockham.
For those who did not attend the meeting
and for further clarification; the meeting was held to
discuss and inform local residents about the impending sale of
a 2.5 acre field and barn in Middle Street. In particular,
resident's concerns arising from the news that the purchase of
the plot being potentially, to someone outside of the local
community who may have a desire to fundamentally change
its usage.
At present the land in question is used for grazing,
pasture, dog training/exercise and general agricultural
purposes.
As a result of the perceived and anticipated risk of
a change of usage in the event of a sale, certain
Brockham and Strood Green residents have tabled a substantial
private offer to buy the plot. Such a purchase will
introduce certainty of ownership and usage to the community
both for now and future generations.
Candidly put; those residents need help.
To satisfy the vendor, the residents will need to
rapidly raise a community chest in excess of
£160,000.
A number of concerned residents have already made pledges
of support, sadly many of whom cannot really afford to do
so. Some are arranging second charges on their homes; others
are selling assets or borrowing from close family to help
finance the potential purchase of the plot.
In return, they will receive a share in the field (footnote
1) that much is tangible.
In addition however, they will also receive
intangible benefits; including surety that village
life will continue as is and protection of that life for future
generations.
It was very moving to see so many of you raising your
hands to pledge support last night. Please, please,
please...in the light of a new day, remember those raised
hands and what they represented. Then hopefully you can raise
them again in a short period, along with a full glass,
and toast village ownership of village land.
Please financially support the bid; until the
community chest is full, the only certainty is
uncertainty.
Footnote 1: At present the precise mechanics of ownership
have not been finely tuned in view of the 48 hour timescale that we
have been working towards. However, it is likely that a
limited company will ultimately own the land with the community
owning ordinary shares in that company.
Hopefully this page will be used as both a news
letter and a diary of events to keep you all informed of
community progress to date together with dates
of proposed update meetings. We welcome your input at
any time.
Please forgive our somewhat clumsy communication attempts up to
this point, the situation has moved at lightning speed over
the last 48 hours.
Please feel free to distribute this short note to those who
could not attend and/or those that are unable to access the
internet.
Once again a heartfelt thank you to all those who attended
and pledged their support.
Our contact details are as follows:-
ELP Brockham
(Emergency land preservation, Brockham)