Page 36 - Phonebox Magazine December 2016

Petsoe Manor Farm right of way
FMercury report of MKC DCC 25th October 2016
or many years members of the public appear to have enjoyed had previously used the path unhindered but had been prevented from a right of way through Petsoe Manor Farm, via a strip of land doing so in recent years. Some said that before the dispute began that starts at the end of Newton Road Emberton and ends at they had been shown the correct pathway through the farm by the the intersection of a public footpath and bridleway 120m later. owners or their employees. In objecting to the order Christine Needham
There are unlocked gates at either end of this strip which runs through said that members of her family and employees were not aware that
the current farm yard.
In 2006 the owners erected notices stating that the land was private and there was no public right of way. Walkers and horse riders who had previously used the strip of land were now advised by the owners or their employees that they could no longer pass through the farm yard and were turned back. In February 2013 Serena Von der Heyde applied for a modi cation of the de nite map and statement of the area under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to include the disputed roadway as a public right of way on the basis that there was evidence of public use for a period up to and exceeding 20 years. This is known as a DMMO (De nitive Map Modi cation Order). The De nitive Map is conclusive evidence of the existence of the public rights of way shown on it, although other public rights of way may also exist that remain unrecorded. The fact that a route is shown as a right of way on an ordnance survey map is not, in itself, evidence of existence and in this case maps produced over the years do not all agree. Milton Keynes Council (MKC) subsequently engaged the services of Mike Walker, a public rights of way and countryside access professional to carry out an investigation into the situation. The study also investigated a re-routing of the existing bridleway that had previously existed diagonally across a eld just beyond the disputed pathway.
On the 25th October this year the Development Control Committee (DCC) of MKC met to consider Mike’s report, which ran into 411 pages, and decide whether to grant the order. The chairman explained that role of the DCC was to decide if the balance of probability supported the existence of a public right of way. A number of members of the public were called to speak in support of the DMMO, all saying they
Great War Remembrance
Here, we continue to publish the names of the fallen, from our local war memorials, exactly 100 years ago to the month. Having worked with the Royal British Legion, we have the names of the men, alongside their unit and rank, below.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age Shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.
anyone had used the path without being warned that it was not a right of way, unless they had speci c permission. Her solicitor pointed out that because there was an apparent gap between two acknowledged rights of way there was no justi cation to assume a continuous right of way. He also claimed that there had been a ‘procedural irregularity’ in the way the DMMO noti cation had been served since it had been sent to the occupiers of the land, namely the Needham family and M K Windfarms Limited, rather than the registered owners who are Tulip Investments Limited. The report identi ed that the Needham family are in fact directors of both companies and the chairman was of the opinion that the landowners had had two and half years to identify the procedural error and could have sought a judicial review or raised an objection.
Ward Councillor Peter Geary said that there was evidence that Tulip Investments had received noti cation of the order. He agreed that it was dangerous to have public access through a working farmyard but that was not a reason to refuse the order. There was compelling evidence of the existence of a right of way, he said, and the public have rights which the law backs up.
Each member of the committee then spoke in support of the DMMO. They agreed there was a compelling case for it and many felt that it was not a case of a pathway going through a farmyard but more a case of a farm gradually developing around a track which had originally passed to the front of the farm house. A vote was taken and the members unanimously agreed to pass the order and modify the De nitive Map accordingly. The order will now be advertised and if the landowners decide to object, will be submitted to the Secretary of State who may hold a public enquiry or hearing.
Royal British Legion
Name
William Wheller Harry Coles William Young
Date of Death Age
02/12/16 39 03/12/16 26 24/12/16 25
Rank
Private Sergeant Private
Unit
Army Veterinary Corps
2nd Btn, King’s Own (Royal Lancs Regiment) 4th Btn, South Wales Borderers.
Memorial
North Crawley Olney
North Crawley
36 Phonebox Magazine | December 2016