Limpsfield Parish Council (LPC) has become aware, both from the Annual Parish Meeting in April 2022 and emails received, that there is speculation and rumour regarding the current usage, current lease arrangements and the future of both the Glebe and Brook fields that lie between Detillens Lane and Granville Road.
Therefore the LPC has decided to set out its position formally:
The Glebe (owned by the Diocese of Southwark) and the Brook Field (owned by the Titsey Estate) are privately owned. We therefore cannot know the terms of the lease(s) or the intentions of the landowners or tenant(s).
A public footpath (FP78) runs from Detillens Lane to Granville Road, but there is, however, no right to walk or exercise or take dogs on any other area of these fields.
As part of the Limpsfield Neighbourhood Plan (LNP), the LPC managed to achieve Local Green Space designation for the Glebe and Brook fields (along with other sites in the Parish).
The current National Planning Framework (NPPF) sets out the Government’s planning policies for England, with Local Green Space designation (LGS) designed to protect local green areas of particular importance to local communities.
Paragraph 103 states:
NPPF 2021
“Policies for managing development within a Local Green Space should be consistent with those for Green Belts.”
LPC were delighted to have achieved this major ruling, despite strong opposition from the Diocese of Southwark. The LPC will continue to be vigorous in protecting the status of the Glebe and Brook fields should any formal threat occur.
For any information on this matter, please contact Sophie Martin, the Parish Council Clerk via email at clerk@limpsfield.org.
Thank you.
Limpsfield Local Green Spaces are:
- The Glebe Field, Brook Field and Glebe Meadow
- Stanhopes / The Village Green
- Padbrook Pond
- Tidy’s Green (by Ratcatchers Cottage A25)
- Land to the north of the A25 between the traffic lights and Pebble Hill Cottages – Part of Pebble Hill
- Land in front of Hookwood Bungalows
- Land in front of Carpenters Arms, Limpsfield Chart
The full NPPF document can be found here.
More information on Local Green Spaces can be found at the Open Spaces Society, here.
