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Herne Bay, England, CT6
United Kingdom

Community website for all things Herne Bay (Kent, UK). Covers: The Downs, Herne Bay Museum, Herne Bay Historical Records Society, Herne Bay Pier Trust, Herne Bay in Bloom, East Cliff Neighbourhood Panel, No Night Flights, Manston Airport, Save Hillborough, Kitewood, WEA, Local Plan and much, much more...

Friends of the Downs

Filtering by Tag: Save Our Downs

Reprieve in the News

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Herne Bay Downs beach hut plans could be dropped

A plan to build 40 beach huts on downs in Kent could be scrapped amid fears of their impact on coast erosion. Canterbury City Council had been considering building huts on the downs near Beacon Hill at East Cliff, Herne Bay. In a report to the council's executive, engineers raised concerns that the huts would prevent coastal protection works from being carried out. A final decision on the scheme is due to be made by councillors on Thursday.

According to the report, the proposed beach hut site is within an active landslip area where engineering works have already been carried out. Council officers and engineers will recommend that councillors vote to keep the downs free from development and work with the Save the Downs campaign group to develop a management plan for its future. Campaigners against the proposal have already launched a bid to get the area registered as a village green to protect it from development. The executive meeting takes place at the Guildhall in Canterbury on Thursday from 1830 BST and is open to the public.

BBC


Victory in sight?

Victory is in sight for Herne Bay’s Save Our Downs group after a long fight to stop beach huts being built on the land. The controversial idea to sell off part of the Herne Bay Downs to beach hut developers may be scrapped at a meeting of the council executive today, Thursday 12th August.

It will meet to discuss a new engineering report which says beach huts could not be built, as well as new ideas by council officials to work with the Save Our Downs campaign group to make the area’s environment better for the community. Herne Bay councillor and executive member Peter Lee said:

“The report before the executive says we should abandon the scheme of beach huts in that area and having clear advice from the engineers that is what we will do. I will be highly surprised if, on Thursday, the executive does not decide to abandon the scheme. This was never a council scheme. The council was trying to balance the need of people to have beach huts in the area with the need for the local residents to get to the open space.”

Townspeople under the name of the Save Our Downs group had been campaigning against the idea and had put in a town green application to block the council ever selling any of it off for beach huts.

Canterbury council has set aside £14,000 to help make the most of the Downs with the help of the campaign group. This work will start in the autumn if the executive votes to pass the motion. Kent County Council will decide on this in early autumn and so Canterbury council commissioned engineering reports to see whether the scheme is viable. A council spokesman said:

“The proposed site for the huts near Beacon Hill is within an active landslip area, and underneath the natural grassy slope is a full engineering scheme designed to prevent a landslide. Construction of the huts would prevent monitoring and maintenance of the stabilisation works, the report says.”

Phil Rose, co-ordinator of the Save Our Downs campaign, said:

“The Save Our Downs campaign team is crossing its fingers that the council makes the right decision on Thursday. Once the Downs are whole again, and the threat to their future as a public open space has gone, the local community can start working alongside the council to shape a secure future for this land. We all recognise how important the Downs is to Herne Bay, not just as part of the sea defences, but as a well-loved and much-used natural breathing space for the whole town.”

The final decision will be made in the Guildhall in Canterbury at 6.30pm on Thursday, August 12 in a public meeting.

yourcanterbury.co.uk 12th August 2010


Crunch meeting due on Downs hut plan

Councillors set to decide on controversial development Campaigners hoping to prevent development on the Downs at Herne Bay will have their fingers crossed at a crucial council meeting tonight (Thursday). Protestors from the Save Our Downs campaign are expected to pack the Guildhall in Canterbury to hear councillors discuss plans to build beach huts on the land.

A report issued to councillors recommends that the controversial scheme is scrapped, because of the danger of landslides or interference with coastal protection works. They also suggest the land earmarked for building should be returned to official public open space. Phil Rose, of the Friends of the Downs, said it was a tense time for the campaign:

"The Save Our Downs campaign team is crossing its fingers that the council makes the right decision on Thursday. So are hundreds and hundreds of people in and around Herne Bay who have campaigned for more than a year to keep the Downs unspoilt and undeveloped. If the council says ‘yes’ to ditching the proposal it will be reflecting the wishes of hundreds of local people. Once the Downs are whole again, and the threat to their future as a public open space has gone, the local community can start working alongside the council to shape a secure future for this land.”

The report - which declared the beach huts project “unfeasible” - also recommends that council staff should work with the Friends of the Downs on a management plan to preserve and protect the land for the future. If councillors agree, a public meeting would be held in the autumn to give more information and recruit more volunteers. Mr Rose added:

“We are delighted that we may now be able to develop with the council a management plan to protect and preserve the Downs, so that future generations of townspeople can continue to use the Downs freely and for free, forever”

The group is continuing with its application for village green status for the Downs, to which council bosses have objected. A hearing date is yet to be set. For more information on the campaign, e-mail: email@HerneBayMatters.com. The executive meeting takes place at the Guildhall in Canterbury from 6.30pm and is open to the public.

HB Times 12th August 2010


Friends of the Downs home page

1,100 sign up to save The Downs

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Village green designation demanded for beauty spot

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CAMPAIGNERS are preparing to do battle over the future of a Herne Bay beauty spot. More than 1,100 people are backing an application to give formal protection to The Downs by registering it as a village green, meaning no development would be allowed. The campaign was sparked by an application to build 40 beach huts near the Kings Hall.

Kent County Council bosses are now considering the request, and the accompanying 1,181 statements of support, but Canterbury City Council officials said they would oppose the request, because it would stop essential maintenance work in the area. Part of the area has already lost its designation as public open space, to allow the beach huts to be built.

Steve Lockwood, of the Save Our Downs Campaign, said:

"The whole campaign team has been amazed by the strength of feeling local people have about The Downs and how fired up they are to protect it. Village green status will protect this land forever so that everyone in the town can carry on using all of it just as we do today – freely and free of charge. It wouldn't cost the council a penny to make The Downs a village green. It would be such a shame if the council chose to ignore local opinion and refused to give The Downs the protection that Herne Bay people want it to have."

Supporters believe their application could be the largest ever considered by councillors because of the number of accompanying statements, and more than 95 per cent of people backing the bid are from Herne Bay. Campaign coordinator Phil Rose said:

"The Downs is a much-loved and well-used part of Herne Bay life, and has been for decades. The people who sent us statements have been using The Downs for a total of 27,750 years! The longest period of use that someone told us about is 86 years, and even the average is 24 years. This land has been close to the town's heart for generations."

He urged people to contact Canterbury City Council chief executive Colin Carmichael to urge him to support the application. But Cllr Peter Vickery-Jones, a member of Canterbury City Council's ruling executive committee, said the decision would not be that simple. He said:

"Village green status would mean we could not carry out essential maintenance of the area without asking the Secretary of State for permission. It's a technicality but it's important. The Downs was never under threat but the campaigners have a bee in their bonnet and they are entitled to do this. We all want Herne Bay to thrive but I believe that has to be based on tourism and the only way to do that is to attract more people to the town by making it interesting. The beach huts would have helped to do that."

HB Times 2010-04-08


Friends of the Downs home page

What we need, and what we've got

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The relevant piece of law is The Commons Act 2006. This allows for applications to be made to register land as a new village green, provided that the land in question has been used:

  • for a period of at least 20 years
  • for the purposes of lawful sports and pastimes
  • 'as of right' (i.e. without force, secrecy or permission)
  • by the inhabitants of a locality, or a neighbourhood within a locality.

The Save Our Downs campaign collected 1,119 'witness statements' with 1,181 signatures - my thanks to all of you. These witness statements are formal, signed declarations supporting the village green application, from people who use The Downs.

  • they cover an unbroken period of more than 85 years (over 27,000 years of use in total!)
  • they paint a clear picture of harmless and lawful enjoyment of The Downs by the people of Herne Bay: Football, Dog walking, Cricket, Bird watching, Walking for pleasure, Drawing and painting, Picnicking, Sitting to watch the view, Kite flying, Team games, Running, Picking blackberries, Watching fireworks, Bicycle riding, Tobogganing, Sports training and many others (including the delightful addition of "Courting").
  • nobody has had to force their way on to The Downs, or used The Downs secretly, or sought permission from anyone
  • more than 95% came from people who live in the CT6 post code area, i.e. Herne Bay
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