A row is brewing over attempts by a new resident in Bearsted to subsume an alleyway which older villagers maintain is public land.

Lorraine Summers moved into 1 Smarts Cottages at The Green in August. She has since had the alleyway between her property and the neighbouring home, Betsworth, paved and has installed gates at each end. She now parks her cars there and keeps her wheelie-bins there.

She has subsequently submitted an application seeking a Lawful Development Certificate from Maidstone council to legitimise her action.

But other villagers say the short-cut between Forge Cottages and the rear of the cricket pavilion has been public open space since at least 1842 when it was shown on an historic tithe map.

In representations to the council, Sandra Grieve said she had lived in the village for 65 years and the land had always been regarded as part of the Village Green. Val Williams, a resident since the 1950s, said she had never known the alleyway used for parking or being restricted to the public. Roger Vidler said he had used the alley since the 1950s. He said: “At no time have I known it to be fenced, gates put up, or cars parked on a permanent or long-term basis.”

In her application, Mrs Summers agreed that she was not the owner of the land, but said the owner could not be identified. She cited an affidavit from a previous owner of her cottage, Esther Taylor, saying that Mrs Taylor had used the alleyway for parking vehicles between 1987 and 2010 without complaint.

Although Mrs Summers has installed gates at each end of the alley, they have so far been left open. The public have not been prevented from walking through, but have been discouraged from doing so because the alley now looks like part of the curtilage of the cottage.

Mrs Summers said: “When I purchased 1 Smarts Cottages, the agents’ details stated:- ‘To the side is a parking area for two vehicles where the owners have a legal right for parking claimed under adverse possession.’

“I subsequently found this was not the case. However, an entry had been made at the Land Registry stating that a right-of-way over the land had been claimed and noted on the deeds of the property.

“The first note was on November 15, 1983, and had been updated when the property had sold to new owners, up to the current time.

“This is the only note at the Land Registry regarding this land.

“The land registry confirm that the land is not a registered public footpath and is not owned by the parish council or any other council or individual.

“There was an old hardstanding in place and whenever I visited the property, prior to purchasing it, the owner had her car parked on it.

“The sales document also showed her car parked on the hardstanding.”
Mrs Summers said: “I have made no attempt to restrict people accessing The Green and the small number of people who have used the footpath continue to do so completely without obstruction, but this land is not, and has never been a public right of way, although people may have assumed it was.

“ It has never been maintained by anyone other than the owners of 1 Smart Cottages, who have not only strimmed the land but collected dog poo, drinking glasses and other undesirable items from it.

“I have received a lot of very positive comments from people who are pleased that the area is now far more in keeping with the smart appearance the village wishes to maintain.”

Sheila Tucker, Mrs Summers’ neighbour at Bettsworth, said: “To be honest we have no great objection as long as the gates are left open for access. It’s a lot tidier now.

“The alley used to be very overgrown and muddy, with knee-high nettles.

“There have been a lot more people using it since Mrs Summers had it paved - whether that’s to make a point or because it’s easier to walk I don’t know.”

She said the alley had been little used except on village fete days and sometimes by drinkers returning late at night from the pub who used it as a toilet.

The Bearsted and Thurnham Society is urging residents to oppose the application. A spokesman said: “If the application is not opposed, astonishingly, there is a good chance that the owner will succeed in annexing this area, denying the public use of the path and a public amenity will be lost forever.”

Bearsted Parish Council is the legal owner of Bearsted Green, but the chairman of the planning committee Cllr Denis Spooner acknowledged that when the land was registered to the parish in 1970, the small strip that comprised the alleyway may have been overlooked.

He said that nevertheless the parish council regarded the alleyway as part of The Green and was taking legal advice.

The council decided at a meeting in the Memorial Hall to “very strongly” oppose the application for a Lawful Development Certificate.

Cllr Spooner said: “We believe that to obtain such a certificate, the applicant must prove they have had the claimed use without let or hindrance for the past 10 years. The applicant has submitted no evidence at all for the period post 2010.”

Cllr Spooner said the alleyway had always been well used by the public especially by visiting cricketers during the summer.

He said the parish would also be seeking the full restoration of the land as a grassed open footpath.

Details of the application can be seen on the Maidstone council website: www.maidstone.gov.uk, under reference number 14/505152.