Mill Hill Preservation Society

Simmond’s Mead Village Green Application
‘A Success’

A village green is legally defined as an area where people in the community have enjoyed legitimate sports or pastimes for at least 20 years. On the 7th November 2007 the application to register Simmond’s Mead as a Village Green went before Barnet Council’s Planning & Environment committee and was approved.

Simmond’s Mead is the area of land at the Lawrence Street junction with the A41. It will now be registered as a Village Green under the COMMONS REGISTRATION ACT 1965 SECTION 13. This means that though it is owned by the council it is now protected from development and must be kept for use by members of the public.

As you are aware from previous newsletter updates, trying to register Simmond’s Mead as a Village Green has been a real struggle and has taken two years to complete. I would like to thank all preservation society members who took the time and trouble to complete evidence questionnaires and statements. Norman Saville who was the society’s legal advisor, for the time he spent assisting me. Councillor Matthew Offord who delivered by hand the second set of completed evidence questionnaires and maps to the council’s legal department, (after the council lost the paperwork for our first application), and the Open Space Society who assisted me when I first started this application.

Mill Hill Preservation Society can not stress the importance enough of registering small open spaces that have been used “freely” by members of the public, for a long period of time. We must remember that we live in an increasingly built up environment, with greater and greater demand to build on our green spaces. We need to act now to protect our environment for future generations to enjoy.

A big “THANK YOU” to you all.

Zenda Green 2007