Our greedy residents in £800k homes at war in quaint Hampshire village over neighbour's plans to turn beloved green into his 'garden'  thanks to 'historical' loophole

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When The Kinks sang of The Village Green Preservation Society, they vowed to protect different flavoured jams and Draughts falling victim to the 1960s zeitgeist.

Of all the new age threats to Britain’s gentle and innocent institutions, newbuild houses and vicious multi-pronged planning wars didn’t quite make Ray Davies’s lyric sheet.

But it’s what residents in the village of Monxton, near Andover in Hampshire, are up against amid an eight year battle to save their village green after a developer acquired it alongside a neighbouring car park and pub.

‘There would potentially be two/three houses with a back garden onto the river. Imagine what they would sell for’, says Mike Cleugh, chair of Monxton Parish Council and a resident of the village since 2000.

The 70-year-old added: ‘This has been the main issue for eight years. One of my big fears is he just puts a fence around it. This could even be the garden of some nice executive home, all bad outcomes for us.

‘I’m worn out by this. I’ve been at it for years.’

Mike Cleugh, chair of the parish council, said Monxton village green has been used for 'hundreds and hundreds of years' by the public

Mike Cleugh, chair of the parish council, said Monxton village green has been used for ‘hundreds and hundreds of years’ by the public

DC Li Builders were slammed by locals in Monxton, Hampshire who accused them of letting the Black Swan pub run into disrepair after they bought it in 2016

DC Li Builders, who bought the Black Swan pub in 2016, also have the right to build on the village green next to its car park

DC Li Builders, who bought the Black Swan pub in 2016, also have the right to build on the village green next to its car park 

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For decades, Monxton village green has hosted Jubilee celebrations, Christmas carols and was even a Dig for Victory site during WW2 – many believed it was public land.

That was until 2016 when DC Li Builders bought the failed Black Swan pub and its car park.

But during the purchase, it emerged that a ‘historical quirk’ meant whoever owned the boozer, which dates back to 1650, also owned the green, as the car park was built on part of the green in the 1960s.

Sarah Dowding, who has lived in the village for 15 years, led a campaign alongside Mike Cleugh to buy the pub through a community scheme in order to preserve it for future generations.

She explained: ‘We listed it as an asset of community value. It was on the market for £475,000 + VAT. We had valuations at £270,000. We offered £250,000, they said you can’t buy it.’

Despite the community having a landlord lined up and ready to take on the pub, the developer bought the green, pub and car park for £225,000.

The move, Mike says, ‘literally ripped the heart out of this village’, which has around 550 residents and 90 homes.

Test Valley Borough Councillors then voted unanimously to turn the crumbling pub, sold off by Enterprise Inns to cover its spiralling debts, into a home, despite it going against council strategy.

The property was sold by the developer to a family for £400,000 cash.

Mike explained: ‘He failed to get planning applications for houses on the car park, and he failed twice to get change of use.

‘He did try to put in a planning application to move the substation in the carpark to the front of the green, which would ruined the green, and build on the car park.

‘Then he got a family to buy the pub so he could split the title and develop on the car park and village green. He tried to get planning permission for five years and we have stopped each one.’

As the battle heated up, residents tried to barter with the developer to swap land, where the village hall stood, with the car park.

The proposal would have seen a direct swap and a high end village hall built next to the green, while the developer could build homes on the site of the old village hall.

‘We were in discussions for a year about how it would all work, after a whole year he said ‘we don’t sell land”, Sarah said, adding: ‘That’s when it went sour.’

Villagers fear the communal space may be turned into a residential garden by DC Li Builders after it put up signs reading 'Private Land - No access without permission'

Villagers fear the communal space may be turned into a residential garden by DC Li Builders after it put up signs reading ‘Private Land – No access without permission’

The locals in Monxton, Hampshire are desperately trying to save the beauty spot frequently used for community events

The locals in Monxton, Hampshire are desperately trying to save the beauty spot frequently used for community events

But the row between locals and developer Dique Li and his son Joe deepened this year when signs reading ‘Private Land – No access without permission’ were put up on the green.

The move horrified residents, many of which have strong familial and sentimental links to the green, which boasts a vast weeping willow and the Pillhill Brook chalk stream.

No more is this truer than for Carolyn Brady whose family have lived in the village for 100 years and whose mum used to perform opera on the green.

Mike Cleugh - the chair of Monxton Parish Council

Mike Cleugh – the chair of Monxton Parish Council

The 64-year-old told MailOnline: ‘My family have been in this village for three generations. We are going back pre-War.

‘Village green wise, that can’t go, that is common land that has been in use by everyone in this village, we’ve camped here, we’ve swum here, we’ve done everything on the village green.

‘I don’t believe someone can just come in and buy a village green. It’s got to be preserved for everyone’s use.

‘My biggest fear is that there will be building on it. That is crazy. It’s just profit over village life, there has to be a stand against that. He could go to town.’

Karin Staines, 53, who provides safe water infrastructure to countries in Africa, has lived in Monxton for 14 years and said being banned from accessing the spiritual centre of the village has been ‘devastating’.

She said: ‘We have moved to the countryside for a reason, to live in a rural space where we can enjoy the outdoors and be surrounded by greenery.

‘If this gets built on, there is literally no green space where people can come together. He [the developer] doesn’t seem to be concerned about feeling on his doorstep.’

Karen Nadin, who has only lived in the village for two years, said locals were scared at what could happen next.

Cyclist George Kousseff, 65, was enjoying a sandwich and a view of the river during a stop on a mammoth 100km bike ride and explained it would be a disaster if the village green was built over

He said: ‘It’s just beautiful around here. I’m not a local. however for me it is a major milestone stopping off point.’

Residents have been advised to put in a neighbourhood plan which would allow them to have a say on future developments and the future of their neighbourhoods.

It can act as an obstruction to developers but can cost thousands to implement and is a lengthy process.

Incredibly, the council still shells out around £800 a year to maintain the green, despite it technically being owned by the developer.

The council pays £800 per year to maintain Monxton village green - despite it being owned by the developer

The council pays £800 per year to maintain Monxton village green – despite it being owned by the developer

DC Li Builders are yet to put forward any planning applications to build on the green – but Mike Cleugh feels that given the ongoing saga, it is just a matter of time.

‘This is the developer playbook, this is happening all over the place’, he claimed, adding: ‘There is no protection in law or policy. I am not at all convinced Hampshire County Council’s village green process is going to protect this place.’

He added: ‘Within six weeks and a day of getting change of use for the pub – the developer did exactly what we predicted he would do which is basically to look to develop on this green.

‘That’s what developers do, why would you expect anything different?

A petition to save the green has received over 240 signatures – it demands Test Valley Borough Council to put in a plan to ban any development.

As part of a campaign to get the green protected, villagers who have lived in Monxton for more than twenty years were also asked to provide evidence of use of the village green.

‘We all provided photos, duck races, parties, royal events, we always have parties’, Mike said.

DC Li Builders were approached for comment.




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