16.

Applvine the law to the facts

A significant number of the inhabitants of any locality or of any neighbourhood within a locality... I am satisfied that Herne Bay is a qualifying locality within the meaning of the Act.

L6.1. 76.2. 16'3.

that the Applicant has shown on the balance of probabilities that the use of the application land has been predominantly by residents of Herne Bay.
I am satisfied I am satisfied

that a significant number of the inhabitants of Herne Bay have used the application

land for recreation.

... indulged as
1,6.4.

of right

...

The activities of the local inhabitants have had the appearance of the assertion of a right to use the land as a town or village green, and the landowner has not persuaded me that any vitiating factor
exists.

16.s.

lawfulsports and pastimes... The application land has been used by local people for a variety of recreational activities. The principal use of the land has been for recreational dog walking, but there has also been a significant amount of use of substantially the whole of the application land for a wide variety of other recreational activities.
... in

16.6.

...on the land... The application land has been sufficiently well defined to constitute land within the meaning of the

statute.

76.7.

...for a period of at least 20 years and they continue to do so at the time of the application. There was no evidence to suggest that the nature of the land or the use made of it by local inhabitants had changed over the relevant period. ln some applications one must be careful to root out evidence in which the witness is projecting back and reporting use as having been enjoyed during the early part of the period, whereas in fact it has only been enjoyed in more recent times. Here, however, there is nothing to suggest that use has changed in any way over the period, other than by reason of particular fashions for one particular leisure accessory over another. ln this case it seems to me that it can reasonably be inferred that the use proved by the snapshot provided by the evidence questionnaires and the witnesses' evidence of their recent use of the application
land, or similar use, has been enjoyed by local inhabitants for the whole of the relevant period.

L6.8.

that two areas within the application land, those marked in yellow and orange on the plan at O38, the sites respectively of the Queens Avenue works and of the Reculver Drive sand wick drain works, were closed to the public by fencing for a substantial period within the relevant period. The Applicant has not satisfied me that those areas were used for recreation for the whole of the 20 year period.
I was satisfied
Pa

rt-registration

16.9.

The test for registration has not been met in relation to the whole of the application land, but I recommend that the application land, with the exception of the areas coloured yellow and orange on Mr Austin's plan at O38 should be registered as a town or village green.

104

t7.
t7

Conclusion and Recommendation

'1.

that the application to register the whole of the application land fails, but I recommend that the Registration Authority should register part of the application land. The parts of the application land which I recommend should be excluded from the area to be the site of the eueens Avenue works indicated by the yellow colouring on Mr Austin's plan at O38, and shown in detail on the contemporaneous drawing number 957/2 on the location plan by a dashed line, and the site of the sand wick drains works indicated by the orange colouring on Mr Austin's plan at O38 and shown in detail on the contemporaneous drawing number CCC1362-1 by a dashed line marked "2m High security fence". Copies of those plans accompany this report as Appendix 4.
I conclude

L7.2.

The Registration Authority is required by regulation 37 of the 2007 Regulations to give written notice of its determination and of the reasons for its decision to the Applicant and to every person who made representations concerning the application. I recommend that the reasons are stated to be "the reasons set out in the lnspector's Report dated 11th Novemb er 2012" .

LANA WOOD 9 Stone Buildings Lincoln's lnn London WC2A 3NN

Llth Novemb er 2OI2

r05