To: Mr Gordon Henderson MP, Sittingbourne & Sheppey Constituency

We are contacting you to raise the issue of the sale of green spaces on our estate. We are a group of upset Beauvoir Drive residents who are trying to protect a number of green spaces, left behind by the original builders of the estate, that should have been transferred to Swale Borough Council under Section 38 over 35 years ago.

During the original building of the Kings Reach Estate (North of Newman Drive) the builders, Federated Homes, went into liquidation leaving these green spaces unprotected. This has only recently come to light due to the original receiver, Deloittes, who were dealing with the builders’ assets, having sold off the Federated Homes portfolio to another receiver who has now been selling them via private auction houses.

In Beauvoir Drive alone, there are 5 separate pieces of land that have been marketed and sold as ‘redundant’ land, implying to buyers that they are potentially building plots. They most certainly are not redundant, but are used constantly by the residents for various activities including dog walking, play areas for children and resident get-togethers etc.

One piece of land in Beauvoir Drive has sold and the buyers have erected fencing around the perimeter. We are not sure what their motives are or whether this is a way of getting around planning laws, but this is a worrying event for the residents who, up until then looked out on a lovely green with mature trees which we fear may be removed. There is currently a situation in Istead Rise, where someone has purchased a similar size piece of land and KCC has ordered the fence boundary to be removed as it is a ‘publicly maintained highway’ and says it still has public rights even though the green itself is privately owned.

Another green is now subject to planning permission for houses and we are awaiting a decision. We are obviously hopeful that planning permission will be refused but aware that the buyer may appeal the decision.

We have attached a copy of a letter that one of our members sent to SBC in March and has been submitted on the planning portal (number 23/502123/FULL) with regard to this land, which gives the history of this case. The portal also includes over 60 objections regarding this application.

We are obviously very passionate about our local area and feel that it needs urgent investigation as residents’ lives and mental health are being affected by these sudden changes to their environment.

We have enlisted the help of our Ward Councillor, Ashley Wise, who has obtained written confirmation from the Head of Swale Borough Council that these lands are deemed ‘designated’ green spaces.

Ashley, who has been working very hard on our behalf, has suggested that to strengthen our case, we contact you to help raise awareness of this issue and pursue it both locally and at central government as it is happening all over the country with hundreds of plots being sold off via private auction sites, often without the residents, or indeed the councils, being aware. Other recently reported Kent areas have included similar situations in Faversham, Ashford and Istead Rise as mentioned above.

We await your response and thank you in advance for your support.

Yours sincerely

On behalf of the Beauvoir Drive Residents Group.