Village Initiatives
Public Vote on the Proposed Plan for the Top Green
VOTING ON THIS PROPOSAL HAS NOW CLOSED. THE RESULT OF THE VOTE WILL BE ANNOUNCED AT THE RESIDENTS OPEN MEETING ON TUESDAY 10 OCTOBER 2023 IN THE VILLAGE HALL
A plan has been proposed to enhance the Top Green area and there will now be a public village vote as to whether this plan should be implemented or not.
The plan includes steps down to Billy Woods, a wild flower area and a native hedgerow.
Full details of the plan can be found here >
As with all new initiatives or schemes, this plan can only be implemented within Norwood Green, if a consensus is reached amongst village residents that this is what they want to do.
More information about reaching a consensus can be found here >
FAQ’s
Q. Why the Top Green?
A. Over the years, grass cutting and strimming of the Top Green by the council has been reduced to a bare minimum, and residents living around this green have had to undertake the maintenance of this area themselves to ensure that it remains a useable space for the village and visitors alike. These residents formed a working party and approached the CIC for funding and support to make improvements to the green. As a result a plan was proposed and approved by the council for implementation by the residents.
Q. Will the other greens received similar attention?
A. The Top Green is a starting point and should be viewed as a test case for other village green areas. If residents living round any of the greens in the village decide they would like improvements to be made to a particular green, the first step is to form a working party and enlist the help of the CIC with funding and support.
All proposals for improvements to the greens will be treated with equal consideration and will undergo a similar process to the Top Green in terms of approval by the council and a village vote.
Q. How will the work on the Top Green be funded?
A. The Woodland Trust has donated 480 saplings which enables the complete planting of the proposed native hedgerow. The wildflower seed will cost approximately £650 to purchase and this will be covered by funds already generated by the CIC, as will the materials for the steps down to Billy Woods. The work will be carried out by volunteers from the village.
Q. What maintenance is required after the plan is implemented?
A. The responsibility for the maintenance of the native hedge and the wild flower planting will lie with the village/residents, however both these elements are relatively low maintenance.
The native hedge will require an annual trim around February/early March. The wild flowers will require 3 cuts annually, carried out in spring, summer and autumn.
Q. Who can I speak to about the Top Green plan?
A. Marc Salama is the CIC director leading this initiative. You can contact him via the CIC at betterplacetolive@norwoodgreen.org or 07938 975258
How to vote on the proposed plan
The voting will be carried out online only and a link to the voting page will be emailed out to village residents who have registered their email address with the Norwood Green Better Place CIC.
The voting uses a system called a ‘simple majority vote‘. This is the same system used widely across the UK for government and council elections. This system means that the majority of residents who actively vote for a proposed initiative or scheme have to vote positively for this scheme or initiative to go ahead.
More information about the voting system here >
Anyone wishing to vote must have registered their own email address with the Norwood Green Better Place CIC and this email must be unique to themselves as only one vote per email address will be counted in order to ensure ‘one person/one vote’.
If more than one person per household wants to vote, each person must register their own email address.
Note: if you personally have previously received emails from the Norwood Green Better Place CIC, you have already registered your email address.
Residents should familiarise themselves with the details of the plan before voting.
All residents are encouraged to vote so that the result is a true representation of village opinion
I’m concerned about the hedge planting;
a) Unless I have misunderstood it will make part of the Registered Green publicly inaccessible. I’m not sure that this would even be legal.
b) Prunus spinosa – spiny plum – is fast-growing, makes large trees, and perhaps so do some other proposed subjects.
c) The inaccessible part of the Green would then seem to be very easily annexed to adjoining private property.
d) Has the Open Spaces Society – the foremost group concerned with the protection of Greens and recognised by the Planning Inspectorate – been notified?
Had the voting allowed each part of the proposal to be considered separately, then I think that it would perhaps have been more enabling of progress.
(Apologies for the double post – I posted on the other news item in error)
Hello, thank you for sending this. All very interesting. I would certainly welcome the installation of steps down into Billy Woods. I wondered if there were any plans to lower the existing tree line so that the fantastic views could be enjoyed again?
As a wheelchair user I always cringe at the word “steps”. Is there not a way to make acccessible to all?
Thank you all for your comments.
To answer Martin first:
– the area that the hedge will fringe is already inaccessible due to the thick bramble growth. The hillside is particularly steep and inaccessible at this point and there is no intention from the local authority to maintain that particular area. As the proposed hedge will not run continuously into the existing boundary it won’t prevent any access to the brambles. In consultation with the local authority it is believed that the proposal will serve the purpose of better enjoyment of the green, therefore not contravene either section 29 of the commons act 1876 or section 12 of the Inclosure Act 1857.
– Prunus spinosa can grow quickly, around one and a half feet a year in the right conditions. This growth habit is countered by maintaining the hedge with an annual pruning. It is a European native plant and does have a valuable benefit to wildlife, providing nectar, nesting habitat and fruit which make it ideal for a native hedge.
– this point is purely speculative. However it would be illegal for anyone to ‘annexe’ part of the green.
– as custodians the local authority were consulted and gave permission for the proposal to go ahead should the village vote in favour to proceed. The Open Spaces Society are a charity who would defend against development of the green. There is no proposal to develop on the green, only to enhance the existing green space with additional planting.
Judith:
– The work on the steps cannot proceed at present due to ongoing consultation with the local authority.
– as most of the trees that block the view are on private property we cannot plan to lower the tree line.
Kevin:
– the steps element is not due to be started immediately. We can relook at the possibility of replacing steps with a ramp/ramps. There is a ramp planned to run parallel to the steps but the gradient could be an issue. I would be happy to meet and discuss the possibilities with you.
Sounds good for biodiversity. Could I suggest that some of the brambles and nettles are also left. Its quite shady there and although sometimes considered an ‘eyesore’ both support a wide range of insects and are important woodland edge species. Bramble supports Brimstone and Speckled Wood butterfly’s as well as mammal and bird species. Nettle supports Red admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Comma, Peacock butterflies and the Garden Tiger Moth.
Concerns of Mr. Christopher Ferneyhough. The provision of steps down to the woods is to be welcomed, however the drawing and accompanying text imply that there will not be a wildflower meadow, which I would applaud. the impression I get is that the ”wildflower planting” will be tantamount to a municipal flower bed which I do not agree with as it is not in the spirit or appearance of a village green.