Neighbours of a much-loved village green have launched a last-ditch bid to block a large new block of flats from being built next door.
Locals in Tunbridge Wells have launched a crowdfunding campaign to purchase their local commons after a property developer put the 256-acre site up for sale.
Targetfollow, which has owned the Tunbridge Wells and Rusthall Commons since 2008, is marketing the Kent heathland and woodland with potential for a £60million residential development.
The Friends of Tunbridge Wells and Rusthall Commons (FTWRC) is now pushing to raise £1.5million to buy the land and run it for community benefit.
Many locals were shocked to discover the commons were privately-owned rather than public land.
The spa town’s residents are determined to block any future building on what they consider one of their most treasured green spaces.
Norwich-based Targetfollow has informed prospective buyers that the Upper Pantiles Car Park could be deregistered as protected land if the Environment Secretary grants approval.
Initial design proposals suggest the six-acre site could accommodate 104 luxury flats and 285 parking spaces near the historic Pantiles walkway.
The commons have held village green status since the mid-19th century, with strict conservation rules preventing building.
Campaigners now worry that Emma Reynolds could remove these protections and green-light new building on the land.
The Friends of Tunbridge Wells and Rusthall Commons (FTWRC) is now pushing to raise £1.5million to buy the land
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FTWRC also fears that approving this scheme would set a precedent for further building projects across the commons.
Targetfollow has suggested that deregistering the car park could be offset by protecting an equivalent area at nearby Still Green.
But Roger Barton, the treasurer of FTWRC, said: “This would be an unsightly residential development on what is supposed to be green common land.”
He told The Telegraph: “It raises the question of who our shared landscapes really belong to, what ownership means in practice and how communities respond when places they love are treated as market assets.”
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The six-acre site could accommodate 104 luxury flats and 285 parking spaces near the historic Pantiles walkway (pictured)
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John Barber, the former chairman of FTWRC, said: “As a community we feel this is a real opportunity to take the Commons into community ownership for the first time ever.”
He estimated more than 90 per cent of residents oppose any construction on the commons.
Mr Barber said: “Should permission be granted in this case, it risks opening the door to further development in future.”
Campaigners have adopted the Kinks’ 1968 classic The Village Green Preservation Society as their anthem.
The crowdfunding effort has secured around £500,000 pounds in pledges so far.
Campaigners have adopted the Kinks’ 1968 classic The Village Green Preservation Society as their anthem
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But FTWRC faces a deadline of March 26 to raise the full amount needed to outbid rival buyers.
Mr Barber said the campaign would welcome Ray Davies, who penned The Village Green Preservation Society, to perform at a fundraising event “as long as he’s prepared to put his hand in his pocket to support our buy-out”.
“He could even write a song about our campaign. I’d have thought it was the kind of subject matter he might be interested in,” Mr Barber added.
Whoever buys the commons will also receive the title of Lord of the Manor of Rusthall.
Corin Thoday, the chief executive of Targetfollow, said: “The Commons are a cherished part of Tunbridge Wells. Our role now is to run a fair, transparent process that identifies a buyer committed to long-term responsible stewardship – whoever and wherever they are.”
