LANGFORD COMMUNITY LAND PROJECT
Good news at last!
If you remember, we first started trying to buy some land for the village when the Church Commissioners sold Lower Farm almost 4 years ago. At that point we tried for the field opposite the church. We carried out a consultation which found that there was very strong support for the Community Land Project. Although we were unsuccessful in that first attempt, the strength of support for buying some land encouraged us to keep trying.
Next, we attempted to obtain the field adjacent to the church (The Vineyard) when Rectory Farm was sold by the Commissioners a couple of years later. Once again, we were unfortunately the underbidders.
But now the person who did buy The Vineyard has agreed to sell the major part of the field to the Parish Council, on behalf of the village – the part marked as The Vineyard in the aerial photo.
Two small parts of The Vineyard have been sold off already – a bit by the Bell (for their new drainage system), and the narrow lower part behind the Church Lane cottages – the parts outlined in blue on the photo. It is the remaining three-quarters of the field that we are able to buy which is, in fact, the most useful part for a village amenity, as access from the road will be possible (as well as access from Church Lane), it is the flattest and driest part of the field, and lies alongside the church.
Our plan is that The Vineyard will be available as a resource for Langford for very many years to come. It is a lovely peaceful spot already and we will do some tree planting and put in some benches along with other environmental work to make it a really pleasant place in the heart of the village that anyone can use. We can also use it as a great central location for village social events, such as Village Day, and as a car park when we hold those big fund raising events that we rely on to raise funds for the village. And, of course, there is another huge advantage in the village owning The Vineyard – it is right in the heart of the village conservation area, and if we own it we can make sure it is protected from any inappropriate development in the future.
As we explained in our village consultation right at the start of the project to buy some community land, we will fund the purchase with a long-term, low interest loan from the Public Works Loan Board. This is taken out by the Parish Council and repaid over 20 years by an increase in the precept raised by the council (to which every houseful contributes in their Council Tax). To repay a 20 year PWLB loan to buy the Vineyard plot would mean an annual rise of about £39 for Band D households – that’s 75p per week.
It was because your support for the Community Land Project in our first consultation was so strong that we have pressed on with trying to acquire some village land. We think, finally, we are in a position to achieve it. However, before we formally apply for a loan to buy The Vineyard, the Parish Council is required to check that there is still continued good support for the Community Land Project. We think the land will be a real resource for Langford people both now and for generations to come, but we want to hear your views again before we commit to going ahead.
So please tell us your view by completing the two survey questions on the accompanying form. All people over 18 who are normally resident in Langford are entitled to complete the survey.
- Please place completed survey forms into the post box by the front door of the village hall in the next couple of weeks – the deadline is Monday 20th May 2024.
- If you need more survey forms, either photocopy them or download one from the village website at www.langfordGL7.co.uk
Richard Kemp
On behalf of Langford Parish Council
CLICK BELOW TO DOWNLOAD THE VOTING FORM