Village Green at College Fields/Barton Park

Sirs,

In January marlborough.news reported on the Public Inquiry in to the Village Green application for land at College Fields/Barton Park.  Readers will recall members of  the local community applied to have this important open space protected for future generations whilst Marlborough College and Wiltshire Council objected to the application with the help of expensive London lawyers.

The Inspector who heard the Inquiry has provided his report to Wiltshire Council -  and the report will be discussed by the Council’s Commons Registration Committee at The Corn Exchange, Devizes on 22 March at 3pm.  Not perhaps the best time for a public body to host such an important meeting but so be it.

The public support for the Village Green application has been evident and overwhelming all the way through the campaign and the Committee meeting on the 22 March may well be our final chance to influence the decision that is made – Village Green or no Village Green.  I would urge local residents who want to preserve community land for community use to attend this meeting to show the Council how strongly we feel about the matter.

Marlborough has seen the impact of Wiltshire Council’s cynical attitude to community land at Rabley Wood.  If the Village Green application is defeated then the Council’s track record suggests the land at College Fields/Barton Park will be sold off to developers and speculators.  If you don’t like the sound of that idea, then The Corn Exchange Devizes at 3pm on March 22 is the place to be.

Yours,

Peter May
Marlborough