Although Christ Church in Bayston Hill has been supportive over land used by the community there leaders the Diocese has now fenced off the fields. The community say it's much used by the community and a safe place for children to play and much needed, but it seems to Church leaders have other plans for it.
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NewsTranscript
00:00We're here in Basin Hill and just introduce yourself guys.
00:03I'm Terry Trickett, I'm the Secretary of Friends of the Glebe that was formed in November 2023
00:09to help protect this very precious green space in the heart of our village.
00:14And sir?
00:15And I'm Mark Underwood a resident of Basin Hill and I'm the Chair of the Friends of the Glebe
00:18but I'm also on the Paris Council.
00:20So this this green behind you it's been used by the community for since 1940s time hasn't it?
00:26It's since 1949 the community have had access to it unrestricted access to it
00:31and we've had dog walkers regularly using it we've had community events on there
00:35the scouts used to use it when they were in the HQ which they've now
00:39had to they've had had to leave because the diocese have given notice on their lease up there.
00:44So yeah it's owned by Diocese of Lichfield,
00:47why they've fenced it off they've locked they're kind of shutting the community out
00:50what what's their what's their reasoning behind that?
00:52Well we've we've been informed that they've the the land the land agent
00:56Balfour's has been advised by a barrister that they need to fence it off to ensure that
01:01if they put an application in Shropshire are not able to assume that the whole area is open space
01:06which then has an impact on the amount of open space that Shropshire Council are able to
01:10insist upon on a new development so it does seem to be all about maximising the housing
01:14housing density maximising the value.
01:17I actually did ask them to hold off the fencing because it was going to be
01:21a very seen as a very negative action it was going to not do the local church's
01:27reputation much good within the village and could they not wait for six months while the
01:32village green application that I've submitted is determined and or an application for housing
01:37is determined yeah but unfortunately no they've insisted they've got to fence it off.
01:42Yeah well we can as you can see today from the amount of people this is a this is a green space
01:48that is used regularly yeah we've had stories coming in this week of elderly residents in tears
01:56with their dogs can't access because they've not only put the fence up here they've fenced off
02:01every footpath that crosses that people have been using for decades people are so devastated
02:11they are so upset they cannot believe that the diocese would choose to do this
02:16to baston hill yeah especially as the church it became an ecclesiastical parish of the church of
02:22england in 1843 we cannot believe that they're doing that to our village yeah I have I have a
02:28picture here actually that very very well shows the importance of the village to important to
02:34the glebes to the village yeah and it just gives it just shows you how central um and I can I can
02:40share with you on the video it just shows how central the glebelands is
02:45it's right bang in the middle of the village it's the only remaining piece of open space that we
02:49have left yeah and what I can't understand and frustrates me is that a new development
02:54is expected to provide provide open space for the houses that are on the new development
02:58but there seems to be no account taken of the existing houses and this piece of green space
03:03has been made available to us as a community and all we're really asking of appealing to the
03:09diocese to to sector to rethink what they want to do uh and and and to give it back and to show
03:16some compassion and give it back to the village for them to be able to continue to be used parish
03:21council are more than happy to take on board the routine maintenance of it as they have been since
03:261949 so terry behind you is the scouts building there which um they they were using until um
03:39the diocese basically couldn't guarantee their lease which resulted in them not being able to
03:44get qualified for grants to yeah that's my understanding because um because obviously
03:50in order to um improve scout huts and things like that they they do need to be able to say we can
03:57continuously use this land so obviously by the diocese refusing to extend the lease for the
04:05parish council and for the scouts then obviously it means they can't access those grants so at the
04:11moment the scouts don't really have a permanent base which is absolutely so appalling because
04:18there are so many children including my husband who's now 64 who was a boy scout yeah and my
04:26sister-in-law was a girl guide in baston hill and the field at the back there where we feel
04:32ultimately houses are going to be built that seems to be what what people are you know what
04:36the plan is that's what the diocese want yeah we the village will lose our last central green space
04:44it will take the heart out of the village it's like somebody actually said it's the lungs of
04:49the village yeah it's the green it's the ancient trees well you've got memories of a nanny bringing
04:56your children over i do there's my my in-laws yeah would lived on on this hill road um since
05:04the early 1960s and um and granny used to bring my two children from toddlers to go and play on the
05:12glebe yeah and then as the boys grew up they used it for football they went to the christ church
05:19um youth club um we've been to there was the carnival we've been to numerous events here
05:26and you'd say even guide dogs make use of the land yes so guide dogs for the blind um actually
05:31wrote a supporting statement because for the friends that go for um mark underwood's um village
05:37green because it's they they consider it a really really good site yeah to train their guide dog
05:43puppies yeah so they are absolutely devastated as well terry you were a bit flummoxed the day
05:49before this this was fenced off and taken from the community we're just looking at the diocese
05:54of litchfield website here and there's a news item about how they've worked with the community
05:59to protect the green village indeed they've worked with um a community in staffordshire
06:06and they have actually said the diocesan secretary julie jones has said this is a wonderful example
06:12of being able to work together with the village for the common good of the community the church
06:17is about is about more than just providing worship caring for the environment is one of the key areas
06:25of activities for our church it's a lovely thing to do and a fantastic gift for future generations
06:32said a villager who'd also been working with the diocese so you just feel that's very much at odds
06:38with what you're seeing absolutely devastating and appalled i've heard from lots of the villagers
06:43who just could not believe that that was put out and then within 24 48 hours we had spiked fences
06:53around our glebe cutting off all our footpaths so terry this this was the scout building
07:00until the diocese basically kicked them out is that effective yeah i think my understanding
07:06is that the the scout hut um needs to be would have needed to be refurbished
07:13and because the diocese would no longer um guarantee a tenure at least a 10-year lease
07:21they can't actually get the grants and the funding that they would need yeah