Peak District grassland looks set to win village green status

The application, made by resident Brian Griffiths, to register Dale Crescent, in The Dale, Hathersage, as a village green under the Commons Act 2006 in order to safeguard it for the the enjoyment of future generations, will be determined by Derbyshire County Council’s Planning Committee in a meeting on Monday, January 10.

To determine its suitability, Inspector Annabel Graham Paul, of Francis Taylor Building, reviewed the site’s useage over a period of 20 years, taking into account testemonies from residents who stated it had been used for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee celebrations, the village gala parade, fireworks displays and building snowmen.

In her report, she commented: “In particular, there seem to have been annual community events and a significant amount of recreation in the form of children’s games.

“This is without taking into account that there must have been additional activities which others from the claimed neighbourhood havealso carried out.

“These are exactly the types of activities which village greens are used forup and down the country and a conscientious landowner (if there had been one present) ought to have been aware that people were asserting a right to use the land as such.”