High Court threat and new homes plan for contentious woodland off Jesmond Avenue in Highcliffe
A DEVELOPMENT row over a Highcliffe woodland site has stepped up with the threat of High Court action and a new plan for nine homes.
It is the latest in an ongoing fight over land off Jesmond Avenue which has seen locals claiming it as historic woodland, setting up a ‘Save Jesmond Wood’ campaign group and holding demonstrations.
The land was a compulsory purchase from Christopher Bulstrode’s family firm, then known as Boyland and Son Ltd, in 1965 by Hampshire County Council for the purpose of building a relief road.
But the road was never built, and the land was sold back to the family for £300,000 with Mr Bulstrode insisting in his legal action that this was always on the understanding it would be built on. It is now owned by his firm Brentland Ltd.
In its Draft Local Plan, BCP Council lists the site as “existing ecological network” and includes it in the Highcliffe green corridor. Mr Bulstrode says this could prevent future development and has instructed London-based barrister William Webster to act on his behalf.
In a letter to BCP Council Mr Webster describes the site as: “Unmanaged, overgrown and partly fenced.”
He adds: “It is not as if the land is used as a place for recreation by locals or is even demonstrably special to the community.“
Mr Webster claims BCP’s actions could be “an unjustified breach of the shared expectation” and constituted “unfairness amounting to an abuse of power”.
“It would be quite inappropriate (and unsound) for such a designation to be promoted by BCP as open space when the land is privately owned and fenced and to which the public have no lawful right of access.”
He said this damaged Brentland’s prospects of obtaining planning permission.
Mr Webster points out that when the land was brought from Boyland and Sons Ltd it was valued on the basis of a housing density of “five to the acre” and with an overage charge of £300,000.
This, Mr Bulstrode says, makes it an obvious assumption the land would be developed in some form.
Mr Bulstrode has demanded BCP “reverse its proposal” that the land is open space or he will take it to the High Court: “If, ultimately, as a result of BCP’s determination not to allow development on the Jesmond Avenue site, it is obvious that Brentland is saddled with land which has limited or even no potential development value.”
He has also submitted a new planning application for nine houses at the site, having made several unsuccessful applications for the land since 2018.
A statement supporting the proposal states: “The applicant would like to reiterate that the site is the former safeguarded route of the Highcliffe bypass, there is no historical significance of the site and it is only this former designation that has prevented the site from being redeveloped. There is no recreational value associated.”
Campaigners have claimed that deer, foxes and even otters have been spotted at the site. But the statement says: “Given the proximity of the of site to Highcliffe centre, Lymington Road and the residential properties to the north it cannot be argued that the site enjoys any degree of tranquillity or that it has any richness of wildlife.”
Parish and BCP councillor Andy Martin said: “Mr Bulstrode spent the best part of a decade trying to build on Jesmond Wood and thereby destroying both it and Highcliffe’s unique environmental and wildlife corridor that it forms a critical part of.
“He clearly has little respect for the democratic process either in terms of the planning decisions made by officers and councillors over the years who have rejected his proposals, or indeed the right of BCP Council to designate Jesmond as open space in the Local Plan.
“The key point is the Local Plan simply proposes exactly the same protection for Jesmond Wood as the current Christchurch Local Plan.”
Cllr Martin added: “Mr Bulstode misrepresents the terms under which he was sold the land by Dorset County Council. He purchased it on the basis that he would have to use his ‘best endeavours’ to obtain planning permission; if he was unable to achieve this he had the option to sell it back to the local authority, now BCP. He can still do that.
“Better still, he could donate it to the community of Highcliffe and we will take care of it.”
BCP Council said it was unable to comment on potential legal action.
But Cllr Margaret Phipps, lead member for Local Plan delivery, said: “The Local Plan went through consultation, and we received representations from Brentland as part of that process. We value the time taken by all residents, businesses and wider statutory stakeholders to give us their opinions.
“The Draft Local Plan was submitted to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Communities and Housing last summer together with all consultation responses. Two independent Planning Inspectors are now considering these documents during the extensive examination procedure.”