Request for Judicial Review was today 15^th Sept 2023 lodged with High Court London.

We are seeking Judicial Review of the Isle of Wight Council’s decision process for the West Acre Park planning application (Westridge Farmland).

The Court will now determine if the case has 'Permission To Proceed' upon in Court.

We will keep you updated with further news and case documents as soon as we are able to.

Once again, big thank you to all that have enabled today’s action to be taken.

There is more work to be done, so please stay connected, share and contribute further if you can.

Fantastic news that we have reached £39,300! This ensures we can now seek Judicial Review in London High Court!

A very big thank you to all that have contributed, we could not have achieved this without your help.

Although we have reached this milestone, we are continuing to raise funds as no doubt there will be a need for additional monies to ensure we succeed when the case is heard in Court.

Tomorrow 15^th September we intend to increase the target amount to be raised to make sure we are best placed in this next phase. So please continue to contribute if you can, and to spread the word to others.

Once again, thank you to all for your contributions and commitment to this just cause.

If we raise £4,100 of the remaining £9,100, then five separate members of an Isle of Wight land owning family will each effectively match fund and donate £1,000 each thus enabling us to reach our target of £39,300 to seek Judicial Review in the High Court in London.

We must reach £39,300 by this Friday 15th September to enable us to take Isle of Wight Council to High Court and Judicial Review.

We need your help now to make this happen.

Please donate what you can, and get others to do likewise.

It’s doable!

And it’s historic…

This is the first crowdfunding campaign on the Isle of Wight by the people for the people to contest a planning application/approval. It is a test case that challenges landowners, developers, and the local authority. We are saying STOP! Our case is the process was unlawful, it was wrong. We will not allow this to happen.

Link to Pre-Action Protocol Letter dated 29/8/2023 sent to Isle of Wight Council:
https://savewestridgefarm.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Council-out-PAP-Final-29.08.23.pdf

The above letter has been received by Isle of Wight Council and Developers and clearly sets out our case that the planning approval was UNLAWFUL.

A letter was also sent to Isle of Wight Council 5/9/2023, by Greenfields (IOW) Limited, that states residents not only want justice in overturning the decision to grant planning permission, but for the whole greenfield site to be taken out of the Draft Island Plan.

Link to letter dated 5/9/2023 sent to Isle of Wight Council by Greenfields (IOW) Limited:
https://savewestridgefarm.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Greenfields-IOW-Limited-letter_05sep2023.pdf

This whole campaign for justice is to preserve historic greenfield sites such as Westridge Farm to prevent climate change, preserve nature, and give a safer environment for future generations. We want the voices of ordinary people, the thousands who objected to the planning proposal thorough direct objections to Isle of Wight Council and through petitions.

This is a test case and it will help all Isle of Wight residents in the future in making sure their voices are heard. Please donate further and help us get this action to court on the 15^thSeptember.

We can do this, but we need the help of yourself and others.

Links to Save Westridge Farm Community Action website and facebook:

https://savewestridgefarm.org.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/savewestridgefarm

A letter has been sent 5th September to Isle of Wight Council by Greenfields (IOW) Limited that states residents not only want justice in overturning the decision to grant planning permission, but for the whole greenfield site to be taken out of the Draft Island Plan.

https://savewestridgefarm.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Greenfields-IOW-Limited-letter_05sep2023.pdf

We need your help now to take Isle of Wight Council to court.

Please donate what you can, and get others to do likewise.

It’s doable!

And it’s historic…

This is the first crowdfunding campaign on the Isle of Wight by the people for the people to contest a planning application/approval. It is a test case that challenges landowners, developers, and the local authority. We are saying STOP! Our case is the process was unlawful, it was wrong, and we will not allow this to happen.

29th August 2023 Pre-Action Protocol Letter sent to the Isle of Wight Council giving notice of intent to seek Judicial Review of the grant of planning permission 4th August 2023 re  Planning Application 20/01061/FUL - Demolition of agricultural buildings and the garage to No 125 Marlborough Road; Proposed development consisting of 473 new dwellings etc.

Residents have been fighting this development, and actions of Isle of Wight Council, for over 7 years… we are so close and now is not the time to give up!

So close to seeing justice done, and the environment and habitat of internationally endangered species such as Curlew, Dormouse etc. being protected!

We are working hard to raise the remaining funds.

We need to reach the target £39,300 by 15^thSept to enable our barristers to take this to Judicial Review in London High Courts.

Please donate whatever amount you can, the larger the amount the quicker we reach the target.

If you have donated already please donate again if you are able.

Please also spread the word as wide as you can, asking others if they are able to contribute as well.

Link to Pre-Action Protocol Letter dated 29th August 2023:

https://savewestridgefarm.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Council-out-PAP-Final-29.08.23.pdf

Link to Save Westridge Farm Community action website and facebook:

https://savewestridgefarm.org.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/savewestridgefarm

The Journey to get Justice for People and the Environment has started!

We have 22 days to meet our target of £39,300 and to enable us to take our case to the High Court in London to seek Judicial Review.

Our barristers and solicitors are finalising our case and the first stage of the journey to court starts shortly with a Pre-Action Letter going to Isle of Wight Council and developers. The 616 pledges of £26,421 have made this happen and got us this far, which is an average pledge of £43.

The Pre-Action Letter will be posted on the Crowdfunding site next week and you will be able to see how strong our case is and how many mistakes and errors have been made in process.

We need you now to help us over the next 22 days to get the final funding to enable us to get to Court.

We need real people power, determination and enthusiasm to get this injustice heard.

It is like we have been on a marathon, have covered over 20 miles and are almost there.
So close now, only a few miles to go, but it is starting to hurt.
We now need to dig in, show our resolve and get to the finish.

Your support to pledge further, share and encourage others to pledge, and make comment on why you are supporting this cause is vital.

Your voice needs to be heard!

How we can get to the target…

• 616 pledges of £21.00 = Target!
• 300 pledges of £43.00 (the average so far) = Target!
• 258 pledges of £50.00 = Target!
• 129 pledges of £100 = Target!
• 65 pledges of £200 = Target!
• 26 pledges of £500 = Target!
• 13 pledges (just 13?) of £1000 = Target!

A big thank you to all of you that have supported this cause so far and pledged funding so that Isle of Wight and Ryde residents can get justice.

Please let’s work together and get this social and environmental injustice to Judicial Review for the sake of future generations of residents and visitors to our beautiful island and UNESCO Biosphere site of environmental importance.

We need to reach our target of £39,300 to do so! 

Every further pledge gets us closer to getting justice!

The Decision Notice for Westacre Park was issued 4^th August 2023. 

We now have 37 Days to raise the funds to get to the next stage. We cannot continue unless we hit target.

This is totally achievable. Please donate.

Thank you

Update 4th August 2023:

• Since 25^th April 2023 Isle of Wight Council has NOT YET ISSUED PLANNING CONSENT.
• Residents are still seeking Judicial Review.
• Lawyers acting on behalf of residents have prepared a detailed case and are only waiting for Isle of Wight Council to issue consent.
• Legal Action is Imminent! It is believed consent is about to be issued in the next week or so.

Isle of Wight Council needs being held to account.

• We are short of the fundraising target and we do need to hit it.
• We need your financial support to make sure our fighting fund is able to go all the way, so we still need your further support.

Please give generously if you can, and please also spread the word to others. Thank you. 

What has happened in this application process is simply wrong, and if not put before a Judge, Isle of Wight Council will get away with a huge miscarriage of justice, and other applications such as currently in Bembridge would be affected by bad and misleading process.

Lawyers acting on behalf of the residents have identified a large number of errors made by the Council during the planning application process. They have prepared a detailed case for a Judicial Review. A Judicial Review looks at whether the proper process was followed during the application process. We do not have the right to seek a Judicial Review until consent is issued.

We have no information on the delay in issuing consent, but view this as a possible continuing strategy of the Isle of Wight Council to drag out the process even longer to exhaust residents’ will and ability to fight on.

Lawyers have been on standby with a fully developed legal case poised against the Isle of Wight Council. There have been delays totalling 2 years which we view as being the possible continued strategy of the Council to exhaust residents and supporters of this cause which is viewed as totally achievable.

Last Chance to Stop this Development

On 25^th April 2023, Isle of Wight Council Planning Committee approved the planning application to build 472 dwellings for a second time by a narrow margin of 6 votes to 5.

Until planning consent is granted and issued by Isle of Wight Council, residents do not have the right to seek Judicial Review.

We believe consent is about to be issued.

Global Boiling, Not Global Warming!

"The era of global boiling has arrived. Climate change is here. It is terrifying. And it is just the beginning” the UN secretary general, António Guterres, has said after scientists confirmed July was on track to be the world's hottest month on record. July is now the hottest month ever recorded.

Westridge Farmland is very much about green fields essential to the Island’s fragile biosphere and natural environment, and also its coastal eco-system.

If 472 houses are built in Ryde on this site the following would have happened! These are reasons to continue supporting this fight:

• No Democracy - Isle of Wight Council as a Local Planning Authority would get away with not having followed proper process in deciding this application. They will get away with a huge miscarriage of justice which could lead to further faulty application processes being passed. This puts every resident at risk of wrong decision making, and every green field and important environmental site at risk. This eats away at the very special fabric of the Island! Isle of Wight Council has not followed required process, has not taken into consideration real material planning considerations and has not properly listened to its residents.
• Climate Change Crisis! – This green field site is part of a corridor of green land that goes from the south and east of Ryde north to Appley Park and Appley Beach, which is an important protected and internationally recognised shoreline. It is a corridor that protects wildlife, and provides breeding and feeding grounds for many endangered and internationally protected species including Curlew and Dormouse. Simply by building on this site, there is a danger the whole local natural eco-system will be destroyed at a time of climate change crisis and the need to protect the environment and also have the ability to produce food locally.
• Against Isle of Wight Council's Draft Planning Strategy which states:
  "The loss or deterioration of irreplaceable habitats will not be permitted except in wholly exceptional cases and then only when a suitable compensation strategy is provided. There are a number of habitats and features outside of designated sites that make a significant contribution to local biodiversity. Development proposals are expected to promote the maintenance and enhancement of the links between designated sites and to positively contribute to the aims and objectives of the biodiversity action plans."
  The Draft Planning Strategy makes much of the Isle of Wight's UNESCO Biosphere status.
  We note that Iain Delaney, Director of Captiva Homes the developers, is on the Isle of WIght Biosphere Steering Group.
• Sewage in the Sea – Appley Beach and surrounding area, part of the Solent and Southampton Water Special Protection Area (SPA), is a precious, protected and environmentally important resource for both nature and human well-being.
  However, it is in danger daily and in the last twelve months over 135 illegal releases of sewage were made by Southern Water at Appley Beach due to increasing heavy flash rain flooding and overpowering of our old sewage system forcing sewage being released into the sea at Appley.
  The Westridge Farmland development will increase the risk of rain flash flooding with sewage destroying the marine life, destroying Ryde’s tourism economy, impacting on the Island’s tourism economy, and risking health.

In posting these updates, we are conscious that the matter of the destruction of Westridge Farmland and the planning application for West Acre Park has evolved into a real saga.

Indeed, this whole nightmare is now tragically interwoven into the fabric of the history and the future of the beautiful town of Ryde and its internationally important surrounding countryside and coastal habitat.

Please contribute all you can to help us fight this wrongdoing.

What we need right now:

• Your positive support to make our voices heard.
• Your financial support to make sure we have enough money to seek and to completely follow through on Judicial Review.

Thank you.

Isle of Wight Council is shortly to issue consent for the development of 472 houses on Westridge Farm land in East Ryde. We believe that could be this week. The planning application came back to IW Council planning committee for consideration on 25^th April 2023 after being first approved on 27^th July 2021. The planning committee voted 6 to 5 to approve the application. The fight to save the farm and green field land from development has stopped consent being issued until now. Solicitors and barristers for Greenfields (IOW) Limited are now finalising the case to seek Judicial Review as soon as a consent notice is issued.

Key Facts

• If residents and the community do not want to see 472 houses built on historic and environmentally important green fields within the boundary of Ryde, then seeking Judicial Review is the only option which must be explored right to the very end until no recourse is available. Anything short of seeing this through to the end represents a wasted opportunity for saving Ryde.
  
  
• Our case is that the process by IW Council in deciding planning permission for this site is flawed and proper legal process has not been followed. This is well documented and legal opinion provided to residents clearly identified this case is a huge social and environmental injustice that not on only affects Ryde residents but residents and visitors to Isle of Wight.
  
  
• This development will cause serious environmental and climate change damage to Ryde that already has a deficit of green space.
  
  
• The reality is that the development will turn the east of Ryde into a massive building site for over 10 years that will inevitably cause dust, traffic issues and disrupt residents’ lives and livelihoods for years and generations to come.
  
  
• 6 weeks after consent is granted our full legal case (the statement of claim) will be in the public domain when presented to the courts and you will be able to see how badly IW Council has behaved and what the reality of injustice residents are faced with.

Your support is urgently needed!

Generous donations to the crowdfunding site has enabled residents to make sure their voice was heard (as it was forensically clear that none of your written objections were considered to be worthy) and prepare a strong legal case to challenge IW Council and the developers. We have fought hard over the past two years to get the decision overturned and prevent consent being issued. The reality is now we have to get our case to a Judge and seek justice through the judicial system. We need further generous donations to fight our case.

We need your donations FAST.

As ever, thank you.

Dear Valued Supporters,

I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to provide you with a crucial update on this ongoing campaign to raise funds for a potential Judicial Review against the Isle of Wight Council's planning decision for the consent of 473 new houses on green belt land in Ryde.

I would firstly like to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone for their unwavering support and commitment to this cause. Over the past 603 days, we have successfully raised £19,830, more than half of our aspirational target of £35,000. Your generosity has empowered us to enlist the services of the environmental solicitors Richard Buxton, who have diligently reviewed the relevant evidence of the planning procedures against statutory laws and have produced clear summaries of evidence reviewed that suggests there were, indeed, critical issues with the planning consent procedures.

We have now reached a critical milestone in our campaign: the case is currently posed to be updated and reviewed in preparation for a full legal filing so that it can be presented at the High Court for a judicial review. I am encouraged to know that, having thoroughly reviewed the evidence, Richard Buxton solicitors are confident that there are strong grounds for a case. This achievement would not have been possible without your steadfast belief in the importance of our cause, and your faith in the potential for change, as well as your generous donations.

After careful consideration, however, I have made the personal decision to step aside from leading this campaign so that I can focus my energy on various community-centred projects in and around Ryde. This decision was not taken lightly, and I continue to trust in our democratic strength and determination to ensure that this campaign continues to thrive with the support of the people it serves.

Since launching the campaign, I have found renewed assurances that the promises outlined in the Section 106 agreement will be adhered to and maintained throughout the project, and into the future. As a ward Councillor, I will continually be checking in with the development to ensure that West Acre Park truly meets the needs of existing and new members of our Ryde community (so please let me know if you see any contraventions of this!) 

Crucially, this campaign has always been about challenging the Isle of Wight Council with their processes. I sincerely hope that our efforts will lead to clear and meaningful assurances from the Isle of Wight Council that they will thoroughly review protocols and procedures around large planning applications and reflect deeply on errors that have been made in these ethical and legal processes. There must be significantly greater care and adherence to our democratic laws during these crucially important times.

As we prepare for this next phase of the campaign, I encourage you all to remain engaged and committed to our shared cause. Together, we have the power to shape the future we want for our community, and I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished so far.

Thank you once again for your unwavering support, and I look forward to witnessing the positive impact our campaign will have on the Isle of Wight.

Local resident Mark Gaskin has come forward to manage the campaign and will be providing further updates soon.

Warm regards,

Jenna Sabine

The Save Westridge Farm Campaign has been a long fight and will continue to be, but it is an important fight as it is a fight for justice and preservation of nature, wildlife, and the environment. The tenant farmers for over 60 years have now left and the cows are no longer on the fields which is a tragedy in itself. However, this makes the fight more important as this is a viable and important food productive green environmentally important space.

Westridge Farm land is a designated ancillary protected feeding site for Solent Waders and Migration Birds such as the Curlew and Brent Geese. Natural England admit they failed to recognise this when the planning application to build 472 houses back in 2020 and object. In the Summer of 2022, when the legal agreement was being written, Natural England objected, citing the issue of these feeding sites. As this would mean conditions would have to be changed as agreed on the 21st July 2021 when planning permission was approved, it has to go back to the Planning Committee for approval on this one key point. Consent can only be given if this is approved and only when consent is granted can solicitors seek Judicial Review.

The IWC Ryde Appley and Elmfield Ward Councillor will and is challenging the likely recommendation to approve an agreement between Natural England and the developer. It is viewed this is a further injustice, as there has been no consultation on this proposed agreement with residents. In fact, as it is a fundamental change to what was presented to the planning committee on 21st July 2021, one could reasonably argue that the whole application is void and the process of application would start from scratch.

Currently, the IW Council Planning Department has scheduled the application to come back to IWC Planning Committee on 21st March or 24th April 2023. At time of writing, the developer had not supplied IW Council with the proposed agreement with Natural England on the feeding sites so the case officer can write a report to committee with a recommendation.

More than ever, this farm and its land is needed to protect the environment and its nature/wildlife, but also provide food. In Ryde, there are over 2000 children living with food poverty and no access to fresh local and nutritious food. Ryde Town Council in 2021 agreed a motion to register the farmland as a community asset and be preserved as a community farm producing fresh food for the community and be accessible to residents to enjoy the wonderful nature on the site including the curlew. This motion still stands. Ryde, as the Isle of Wight’s largest most populated town, has 4 of the most deprived wards on the Island and in the top 10% of most deprived wards in the UK. Ryde has a deficit of green space and the loss of this farmland is a huge missed opportunity for benefitting the existing local communities of Ryde and surrounding areas. This fight is not just about the environment but about poverty and food insecurity.

Please see links to current press coverage of the on-going saga as below:

• Rise in Isle of Wight child poverty: Free school meal eligibility up 63% in four years (onthewight.com)
• Controversial Ryde housing development could be back before Isle of Wight council (onthewight.com)

We need your support, community-resilience and resolve more than ever to stop this development from happening and protect this productive farmland and green space. The sadness is that if the incoming Act of Parliament for Levelling-Up and Regeneration (2023) and the new proposed National Planning Policy Framework (2023) was in place in 2021, this application would, more than likely, have been solidly refused. We need to shout out about these injustice and save this land from development. Please share this post and consider further donation so we can continue the fight. Your generosity has enabled our solicitors to have both procedural and substantive grounds on this case and ready to go but it is a long fight and we need further resources to keep the fight going. Thank you for all your support.

Westrdridge Farm / Westacre Park Judicial Review Update

The fight continues to stop this environmental and human injustice! We need your support in this national campaign!

This update is calling all those who love Ryde, Isle of Wight and deeply care about preserving important environmental green space for future generations.

It is now 16 months since, Isle of Wight Planning Committee approved the West Acre Park planning application to build 472 houses on a working environmental-friendly farm. In November, all the farm machinery have been sold and the tenant farmers who lived their since the 1960s will be gone by Xmas. Our case is that this sad event was triggered by a flawed and challengeable (in law) decision. This is a huge social and environmental injustice!

IW Council Local Planning Authority has not issued consent and therefore the planning application sits in “limbo” non-approved. The last delay has been caused by Natural England  pointing out that the Developers had furnished them with incorrect information about the Site which led to them not objecting. They highlighted the application’s conditional permission excluded the fact houses were being built on the feeding grounds of protected Solent waders and migrating birds. IW Council’s planning officers are now bringing the application back to planning committee at its mid-December meeting just before Christmas and during a cost-of-living crisis. If the planning committee decides to agree to the proposed mitigation plan agreed by Natural England in regard the Curlews and Brent Geese, then it is likely consent will be granted. It is viewed that if natural England had objected at the appropriate time prior to the planning committee in July 2021, then the application arguably would have more than likely been refused.

A farming family have paid the price in the alleged incompetency of IWC’s planning department and committee and lost their home and living. Isle of Wight residents, the community, and people across England have been shocked by the blatant misuse of power and process. Surely it is impossible to accept that this can be allowed to happen at this critical point in history? The case compiled by residents’ lawyers point to substantial and numerous examples of malpractice.

The evidence of IW Council’s failure in this application is evidenced by the Local Government Association’s Peer Review (2022) which highlighted IW Council’s need for an updated Island Plan/Strategy. IW Council by a majority rejected the draft Island Plan at its September meeting and as yet not resolved the way forward. This simply means the Isle of Wight Council remains subject to applications having to be approved in favour of sustainable development which favours developers and landowners. The fact Ryde, the largest populated Town which has a deficit of green space and the fact the farm was sustainable and viable, was seen as irrelevant as IW Council had not updated its plan since 2012 and was out-of-date.

The community of Ryde and future generations have been thoroughly let down. Ryde as the largest populated town with 4 of the most disadvantaged areas on the Island has lost its last working farm and the last significant natural green space outside of municipal parks. Ryde has a huge deficit now of green space. After reviewing the evidence it is our belief that it is without a doubt this loss has been due to conspiracy, malpractice and injustice.

The prolonged agony in the Section 106 legal agreement between IW Council and applicant and landowners being signed, has been costly to the objectors. We now have a situation where the final decision to correct a mistake will be made prior to Chrstmas 2022 and consent (if approved) in early January 2023 within a cost-of-living crisis. Residents due to this delay will have to raise at least a further £16,000  to pursue this social injustice to the very end as they will only have 6 weeks from consent to apply for Judicial Review. It is hard not to conclude that IW Council, Applicants and Landowners have timed the final decision and consent at a time that residents and community are most weakest financially and mentally (the distress of the cost-of-living crisis), when the tenant farmers have left, and during the height of winter when it is the most difficult to organise and campaign.

The next stages when consent is granted, is the residents’ lawyers to a judge/court for judicial review. If this is granted then a court date will be set and IW Council will have to account for their actions in full. Residents rarely have opportunities to bring a Council to account when injustice happens as they need financial support.

This has always been a Daniel and Goliath situation with the might of a local authority and the wealth of the developer and landowner against ordinary and poorer residents and community. However, Climate Change is showing us even more than ever, that this beautiful pastured and wildlife rich and environmentally important greenfield site is needed and not the 472 houses. Ryde Town Council voted on a motion in 2021/22 to make this farmland a community asset and preserve it for the community. Seaview and Nettlestone Parish Council contributed funds towards the fight against the application.

More than ever we need your support to continue to challenge the flawed decision and fight for the future of our children and future generations. We cannot allow the wealthy landowners and developers in this case profit from social injustice. We cannot allow IW Council get away with this perceived incompetency and malpractice.

We believe that the decision was wrong and residents of Ryde and all residents in England, deserve this case to go to Judicial Review and it is wrong a local authority and private developers and landowners play a game of poker with our lives and environment by playing a game of continually raising the financial stakes when our lawyers have instructed us it is illegal.

Please support us to fight this injustice and save our environment.

Your support has been vital as it has paid for a detailed case to be assembled. Your support is now needed to final get justice by taking this case to court straight through to hearing. As case managers hours, days and weeks of labour have already gone into this. We do it because we want a future for our children and generations to come, for our environment which now more than ever is our most precious blessing, we do it because we love Ryde.

We knew it was never going to be easy but nothing worthwhile is - but without you we cannot do this at all. You have been invaluable and for that thank you. 

Please share this email, copy and paste, and spread the word and get justice for Islanders and justice to save our environment.

JUSTICE FOR ISLANDERS, JUSTICE FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS

The legal team is ready to immediately apply for Judicial Review, but only once formal consent is granted. It has been 14 months since planning approval was given, and consent has still not been issued.

The reason for the permission not yet being issued is apparently twofold. Firstly, drafting the lengthy ‘S106 agreement’ has taken over 14 months. These agreements can be notoriously challenging to write, but we would like to highlight that a recent LGA Peer Review (2022) emphasised the need for Isle of Wight Council to improve on the length of time it takes to complete legal agreements. We have recently been informed that the legal agreements have now been sent to the landowners for signature.  

Secondly, whilst the above process was ongoing, Natural England (NE) raised a concern that in arriving at their original recommendation and resolution, the Council had not had due regard to the impact the proposed development might have on supporting habitat, as identified in the Solent Waders and Brent Geese Strategy. NE recognised that they did not identify this as an issue during the public consultation on the application. The email from NE raising their concerns has been placed online on the Planning Register for the application.

The applicant is now in discussions with Natural England to find solution(s). If a solution(s) are found, the applicant will have to submit this to IW LPA (Local Planning Authority) for due consideration by the relevant parties. It is expected that the Appropriate Assessment for the application (as required under the Habitats Regulations) will also need to be updated. This could mean the application has to come back to IW Planning Committee for consideration, as it could mean that sufficiently substantial conditions were not discussed at the initial planning committee meeting on the 29th July 2021 which must now be considered.

Local Ward Councillors are now recommendation the application be recalled to the planning committee, as this is further evidence that residents’ objections around the serious loss of supporting habitat for Curlews and Brent Geese (which are protected species), were absolutely correct. Natural England have admitted they did not identify the issue during the Public Consultation. This could be regarded, in court, as further evidence that IW LPA dismissed residents and other objectors’ concerns with regard to protected species. Instead they were simply responded to with the statement that the principal  statutory consultee on habitat regulations raised no objections. 

While delaying the decision which we need in order to launch a judicial review, these enquiries and potential recalls add weight to the case-in-point, that the decision on the 29th July was potentially flawed, built on foundations of false information by a statutory consultee. These green fields, close to the Solent on the East of the Wight, provide important habitats for protected birds and sustain their natural migratory rhythm. Furthermore, the environmentally friendly farmer who protected the habit for these birds has since ceased working and carefully managing the farm which was a grass-fed dairy due to flawed information and a flawed decision.

The majority of the cows have been sold at Westridge Farm and the tenant farmers are planning their move on future. This is devastating news to the community. It is exactly one year since the fatal night when IW Council Planning Committee decided after three votes to grant planning permission after a disputed and acrimonious meeting. Proper due process was evidently not followed. However, after 1 year no consent has yet been granted due to IW Council not finalising the Section 106 agreement. Until this legal document is signed, the consent cannot be issued and residents’ legal team cannot go to court to start proceedings to seek judicial review. A judicial review challenge has 6 weeks to take place from the date of consent. This is totally unacceptable and appears to be a delaying tactic by IW Council and developer to take any momentum out of the residents’ action to seek justice for the decision 12 months ago.

A recent Local Government Association Peer Review (2022) into IW Council’s planning process and procedures highlighted the IW Council’s inadequacies and inefficiencies. The report emphasised problems within the planning committee process and raised concerns about the length of time legal agreements took and for consent to be granted. This just provides further evidence that a huge injustice happened 12 months ago.

We wish to reassure you that residents’ legal team have been working hard and have gathered all the legal evidence and statements to immediately start action, as soon as IW Council’s issues consent. They have compiled a strong case. We thank you for your support and assure you your donation has been used properly in pursuance of justice. As soon as consent is issued we will inform you. Although sadly, the farm is ceasing, it is still a historic and viable and sustainable farm. This extremely hot summer has shown the reality of climate change and the need to protect green fields and local food production land environmentally for future generations. The fight goes on for justice!

This is an update on what has been happening over the last few months and the next steps. We need your support to raise further funds, a target of £4000 to move to the next phase of this important campaign. 

Our legal team has been working with supportive IW Councillors in getting motions to IW Planning Committee that recalled the application from the 27th July 2022 meeting for reconsideration. There were three attempts. The first motion in January was withdrawn at the last moment due to the tenant farmers being offered funds/settlement by the developer to withdraw on condition they wrote prior to the meeting (copying in the developers as evidence) to IW Council stating they withdrew their personal objection to the application. The tenant family just want a peaceful life now so will not be directly or indirectly involved in this campaign. This campaign is about holding the planning officials to account to avoid atrocities like this in the future and to ensure that due diligence is followed with all decisions that have been made. We have been told by our solicitors that due diligence has not been followed and are therefore acting on behalf of the people of Ryde to remedy this.

The residents have continued to fight this battle and a motion at the IW Planning Committee was put forward. This was fiercely blocked by the Vice-Chair of the Planning Committee and the Chair of the 27th July meeting who used his casting vote to block refusal of the application and get it approved. He used delaying tactics of calling points of order to push the motion out of time and the meeting had to be adjourned. After the meeting it was declared that IW Council had finalised the legal agreement with the developer and was about to issue consent. The Motion was deferred to the 29th March, Planning Committee meeting and 5 x Conservative Councillors and 1 Independent Labour (Chair of the 27th July meeting) voted against the motion to recall. The vote was 4 (3 x Independents and 1 Conservative) for the motion and six against. The residents’ case and copies of the legal letters from residents’ legal team were blocked for circulation to residents and IW Council legal advice heavily emphasised that Judicial Review action by local residents’ was low risk and that the recommended option was to vote against recall and defend the 27th July decision. The weight against the residents’ voice being heard was massive. 

The residents’ wrote 5 times to IW Council with detailed letters outlining the 60 plus errors in the process leading up to and during the meeting of 27th July and subsequently after. None of these letters have ever been responded to in full. There has been total denial by IW Council officially anything was wrong. The voice of the resident objectors and petitioners of the original application (6000 plus), the voices of the local councillors, the voice of the Chair of the Planning Committee and local ward councillor, the local Town Council who objected to the application and the voice of the supporters (you) the contributors to the Crowd Funding have been totally ignored in support of making sure the 472 houses are built. See for all the letters sent to IW Council. 

Due to the defeat of the recall motion, there is nothing to stop the planning consent being issued. Residents will then only have 6 weeks to take the case for Judicial Review to Court and we need your support to continue the fight and injustice. The case is solid and the continuation of the IW Council’s block to residents’ voices provides evidence that the decision on the 27th July was wrong legally, ethically and morally. 

Your funds have, to date, contributed to the following: the establishing of the legal team at Richard Buxton Solicitors (Cambridge) and specialist Planning barrister at Francis Taylor Building (London). They have analysed the evidence and the case and counsel have produced viability reports. Correspondence has flowed on a regular basis to the counsel, witness statements compiled collated and the case is poised. Legal advise and assistance has been given to us throughout this period and in the run up to key council meetings. In order to lodge the Judicial Review papers at court. We need your support to get this strong and evidenced case of injustice to a Court and Judge. This will be a landmark case for all planning applications on green fields/farm land on Isle of Wight and across UK. 

Please contribute to our new target and SHARE SHARE SHARE! This injustice is worthy of national attention as a strong example of how we can speak Truth to Power in order to restore some semblance of justice.

Legal Letters from Richard Buxton Solicitors outlining the case for Judicial Review:

Attachment A - Legal representations on WAP to IWC 03Aug2021

Attachment B - Legal representations on WAP to IWC 09Dec2021

Attachment C - Legal representations on WAP to IWC 12Jan2022

Attachment D - Legal representations on WAP to IWC 14Jan2022

Attachment E - Legal representations on WAP to IWC 01Mar2022

Attachment F - Legal representations on WAP to IWC 28Mar2022

Briefing paper on Motion at IWCPC 29Mar2022

Relevant Web Links:

Planning Committee members vote on motion to recall West Acre Park 473-home ... - OnTheWight

Large-Scale Controversial Ryde Development Given The Go-Ahead - Isle of Wight Radio

RYDE'S WEST ACRE PARK DEVELOPMENT FINALLY GIVEN PLANNING PERMISSION

End Of The Road For Westridge Farm? Decision Day For West Acre Park Development

Westridge Farm Update

This is an important and significant update on the ongoing legal action regarding the Westacre Park planning application.

On the 9^th December 2021, our lawyers sent this letter to the Council regarding the irregularities which took place pursuant to this application.

Following this letter, the Council have, astoundingly, taken the view that they will not re-consider the matter of Westridge Farm. Given the contents of the letter, this is quite surprising and somewhat alarming!

However, a number of cross-party IW Councillors have made representations against this decision, and a motion is now on the IW Planning Committee agenda on the 25^th January 2022 to recall the application. There is also a report on the process/protocol issues raised at the meeting when the application was first heard last July 2021 and clearly outlined in the 9^th December letter which provides further evidence of how flawed the decision was in the first place. The agenda with motion and the protocols report will shortly be in the public domain and available from the IW Council website.

The letter highlights the strong rationale for correcting the deeply flawed planning process. Depending on the decision next week, we might have to consider further litigation to correct the sheer injustice of what the Council has determinedly resolved to do to the people of the Isle of Wight, by showing its contempt for them, at its worst. In order to take the Isle of Wight Council to full judicial review, which we now have strong grounds to do, we will possibly need to rapidly generate renewed interest and funds for legal fees.

Further updates may start coming even more frequently now.

Warmest wishes for 2022,

Save Westridge Farm

Dear Pledgers!

Apologies for the long period of radio silence. The legal team at Richard Buxton solicitors have been very busy with the case but have now advised us to notify our pledgers of some good news!

We've been told by our instructed barrister that we have both procedural and substantial grounds to judifically review the decision to grant planning for the West Acre park development. 

In simple terms, this means that the team at Richard Buxton have reviewed various pieces of evidence and have concluded that there are substantial grounds to challenge the decision.

In the meantime, we'll need to be patient as the case unfolds but you can expect to receive regular updates (but there may be a month or two between each update!)

All the best,

The Save Westridge Farm campaign!

We have done it!

Through sheer collective effort and impassioned generosity, we have hit our target with 11 days remaining!

This is an incredible achievement. Thank you to all those who pledged, some multiple times.

We will keep everyone updated as things progress but we can all relax knowing that further investigations are now possible, thanks to the good nature of our democracy.

Thank you Crowd Justice! Thank you people of the world!

Xxx

We are now within just £900 of our target!

Jenna Sabine and the Save Westridge Farm team would like to thank everyone for their extremely generous pledges. You are all fantastic and this process has really highlighted how committed and passionate we are about justice in our democracy. 

With our initial target now safely within the hundreds of pounds, it looks promising that we will reach our first goal to carry out a full judicial review.

Jenna will be speaking with Isle of Wight Radio tomorrow and we expect another press release to go out Island wide (and even nationally) about this. Please continue to share with friends and families.

...and have a lovely week ahead!

We've passed the 10k point!

This means we've reached 80% of our campaign total already.

Please keep on giving as generously as you can to add further strength to the judicial review.

We just want to offer our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has pledged and shown your passion and commitment for this cause.

Thank you!!!!

Lawyers who are already carrying out a preliminary review have advised that this is a classic example for judicial review and if awarded permission for full trial case could have significant impact for the Save Westridge Farm campaign, and potentially for other similar developments locally and nationally.

But...We've Stalled!!!

🚜 🚜 🚜

Advice from the experts at Crowd Justice have suggested that we need to keep the impetus going with the campaign for it to be successful.

Wow! In just six days of the campaign we have smashed through the halfway mark and are nearly at £7000!

Thank you so much for all of your passionate support with the campaign. 

If you have not already done so, please forward the Crowd Justice link to your family, friends and social network, letting them know that things are looking promising to secure the necessary funds, but we still need to spread the message even further afield.

Our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has pledged so far to support this cause.

Xxx