Protestors hope to derail Greenwich Olympic plan using Victorian law
Campaigners opposed to the use of Greenwich Park during the 2012 Olympics claim to have found a law that renders the recent planning application for the park unlawful.
It refers to a piece of land — known as Circus Field — which borders the park and would be used for logistics during the Games.
Retired solicitor Lionel Lewis told H&H: “The management scheme for Blackheath [dating from 1871] not only prohibits enclosure [of the heath] generally but limits enclosure by those managing the heath to the purpose only of repair of the grasses.”
He said there is “no means for obtaining permission to build any fence or structure” on the land.
But a spokesman for LOCOG said: “Greenwich Council has confirmed it will be considering our planning application in the normal way.”
She said LOCOG would seek consent for use of the land in due course.
And a spokesman for Greenwich Council confirmed the information from No to Greenwich Olympic Equestrian Events (NOGOE) would not affect the planning process.
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A self-confessed newshound, farmer’s daughter and journalist of many years' experience, Charlotte worked on regional papers before joining H&H in 2007. A regular rider, she visited Ireland in 2010 to investigate the fate of Irish horses through the recession, to much acclaim, and reported from the FEI General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro in 2011. She left Horse & Hound in March 2013.