Council appeals to residents to help protect green space in Nailsea

Nailsea Town Council is urging to residents to help it secure town green status for two pieces of land known as Trendlewood Community Park.

The land, on the west side of Trendlewood Way, either side of the road near to the Farmhouse pub and restaurant, was sold at auction in and has since October but little is known about the purchaser. There have since been reports it is back on the market.

Town Clerk, Jo Duffy, said:

“This area of land is extremely popular with members of the local community for all sorts of activities ranging from dog walking and running to picnicking and bird watching, with plenty in between – not to mention the community events that take place there. Nailsea Town Council wants it to remain available to the community and does not want to see the land developed, therefore it plans to submit a town green application to protect it.”

Town greens receive a considerable amount of protection under law and it is a criminal offence to undertake any act which interrupts the use of the area for exercise and recreation.

To enable the land to be registered as a Town Green, the council must prove it has been in use by the community for sports and pastimes for at least 20 years.

Jo added:

“We need residents to demonstrate their support for the protection of this land and ask them to complete evidence forms to prove it has been in use by the community for more than 20 years “as of right”, without force, secrecy or permission. We need to act quickly to protect this land from any possible development, as if the new landowner submits a planning application before our application is processed our bid for it to become a Town Green will fail.”

Residents of all ages are invited to complete an evidence form, and Nailsea Town Council encourage all who use the land to complete a form, not just those whose homes falls within the locality outlined on ‘Map A’, and not just one per family but one for each family member who used to or still uses the park. Evidence forms are available now from No. 65 High Street, Nailsea, the Tithe Barn, or they can be downloaded here.

Photos taken of people enjoying Trendlewood Park, proving it has been used for 20 + years without exclusion, are also needed.

Time is of the essence so completed forms need to be returned to the council before December 23.