Donate to Rook Farm
Well we’ve survived the Rook Farm Planning Inquiry, and all the cross-examinations!
We knew we would be outgunned. Barratt Homes’ legal team was twice as big and at least 4 times as expensive, all highly paid ‘hired guns’ who do nothing else but Planning Appeals. But we held our own, and they didn’t land any major blows on us.
Barratts had 5 years to plan this. Havant Borough Council had 5 months (and caved in). We had just 5 weeks. In that time, we’ve performed absolute miracles. We hired lawyers to help us, without money to pay for them. We focussed on the 3 issues that would give us the best legal case - traffic, flooding and Brent Geese. We waded through 524 official Appeal documents, and tens of thousands of pages, and wrote hundreds of complex legal pages of our own, all being guided and checked by the legal team.
And thanks to the generosity of over 750 Hayling Islanders, we might not have to sell our grannies to pay our legal bills! But we’re still short.
300 new Barratt Homes at Rook Farm would be a disaster for Hayling Island - our biggest development ever, bringing up to 600 cars and 1,000 people, and years of construction traffic.
And over 2,200 planning objections, also the biggest ever.
Shockingly, Havant Borough Council has blocked officers being our expert witnesses, forcing us to recruit more, at extra cost 😡.
And Barratt Homes have ‘bought off’ the RSPB and HIWWT by paying them for Brent Geese mitigation (which isn’t working).
So we can't use the acknowledged bird experts as bird expert witnesses 😡.
Our fundraising is still short - thank you to the over 750 people who have contributed to make it possible, but if you can help plug the gap, we would be most grateful.
If Rook Farm’s 300 houses go though, we expect at least another 140 past rejections to appeal (The Oysters, Fathom’s Reach, Saltmarsh Lane). So we’re actually defending 440+ homes, and around 1,000 more cars.
HELP US SAVE ROOK FARM!
Barratt Homes (through their Gladman subsidiary) have gone to Appeal, and hired a top flight King's Counsel. And we found out 1 day before the deadline that Havant Borough Council is not opposing it, so those 300 extra houses will be approved unless we fight it.
HIRA, Save Rook Farm and Save Our Island believe we have a strong case, based on flooding, traffic, infrastructure, sewage, Brent Geese and nature. And most unusually for a community group, the Planning Inspector has granted us full 'Rule 6' representation in the Public Inquiry.
We've now hired our own top legal team that won last year's Tournerbury Farm Judicial Review against Havant Borough Council, so they know Hayling, and they know Havant Borough Council. And they recommend the same winning barrister.
They advise we'll need at least £40,000 +VAT urgently. Let's show how much we really care about keeping our beautiful Hayling Island safe.
Please donate now! You have 3 choices :
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By credit card via GoFundMe (small deduction for costs & tip will apply)
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Cheque to HIRA, c/o Maurice Dibben Mengham.
PLEASE! TODAY!
Thank you - The HIRA committee, Save Rook Farm and Save Our Island.
Q&A
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Why is Havant Borough Council not fighting it?
Having missed the planning deadline, Council Officers, without consulting Hayling Councillors, decided the case was too costly to risk fighting it.
We say it's too costly to the island to NOT fight it.
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How are we fighting it?
Normally, Planning Inquiries have just two parties -
- The Appellant, in this case Gladman,
- The Local Planning Authority, in this case Havant Borough Council.
There is a special 'Rule 6' that exceptionally allows a third party to be treated as a main party, present their own evidence, cross-examine witnesses, and receive all documents shared between the Appellant and the LPA.
It’s highly unusual to be accepted, but we have.
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Why does HIRA need legal help?
Barratt Homes, owners of Gladman, have very deep pockets, and they’ve hired a top flight King's Counsel and legal team. To have any chance of winning, we will need to fight fire with fire.
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Why can’t HIRA fund it?
HIRA £5 subscriptions only just cover our insurance, website, room hire and occasional leaflet and poster printing. We need to crowd fund it all.
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How do we know the money will be used properly?
All funds raised will be kept in a dedicated HIRA Bank Account, specifically for Rook Farm. HIRA will publish full & transparent accounts for how it is spent.
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What if there are any funds left over?
HIRA will consult with its members whether to:
- Offer to return donations (if that's possible),
- Or to use them to support other good works or
charitable endeavours on Hayling.
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Is Havant Borough Council helping us?
No. They have huge expertise and local knowledge, so we hoped and assumed they would be glad to provide expert witnesses, but unaccountably, they have refused.
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Will HIRA have to pay Barratt's costs if we lose?
Not if we behave responsibly. In a Public Inquiry each party normally bears their own costs. BUT if the Planning Inspector decides one party has behaved irresponsibly, and has unfairly increased another parties' costs, they can award costs against them.
That is why it's so important we get the right legal assistance as early in the process as possible.
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When and where is the Public Inquiry?
The Public Inquiry is scheduled for June 23-25 and June 30-July 2nd, and it will be in person, at HISC, Hayling Island Sailing Club, Sandy Point. HISC have made special provision to allow access and parking by car, which is normally restricted.
Choice of venue is the responsibility of Havant Borough Council, who originally selected Havant Rugby Club, but we managed to get it brought back onto the island following huge outcry from residents wanting to attend.
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Why did the target increase early on?
Under huge time pressure, we made an initial estimate of £30,000 based on previous experience of a similar case. But this case is more complex, and the legal advice is that we'll need at least £40,000 including a top barrister to represent us. Also these figures are subject to VAT, hence our new target of £48,000.
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Which legal firm is representing us?
Leigh Day, the UK's top legal firm for planning and environmental cases. Our brilliant team is actively led by Partner Ricardo Gama, and our barrister is Jessica Allen, of No. 5 Chambers, who was recently nominated as Junior Barrister of the Year.
This is the same team used last year by Hayling's Saving Tournerbury Woods group to win the private Judicial Review against Havant Borough Council. Private Judicial Reviews like this are notoriously difficult to win, but they did.
WHAT WE NEED NOW ....
HIRA’s subscriptions only cover our insurance, website, room hire and a bit of leaflet printing.
We need to crowd fund it all. The question is ….
How much do Hayling Islanders really care about
Saving Rook Farm?
This is a landmark case. If Rook Farm falls, other developers will be queueing up. How long can Hayling’s other green fields survive?
It's crunch time – please Donate! Today!