🚨 PETITION: ASK ‘OPEN SPACES SOCIETY’ TO WITHDRAW THEIR COURT APPLICATION TO REMOVE AN EQUINE FENCE IN ETON WICK 🚨

Please support this petition calling on the Open Spaces Society to withdraw its court application on 29th April to remove the fence from our grazing field. The fields purpose is to safeguard in times of flooding in Eton.

If this fence is removed, I will no longer be able to safely graze animals there and will be left with no choice but to sell the field at auction, ending its long-standing agricultural use.

This land has supported grazing for decades, with aerial photographs dating back to 1945 clearly showing its historic agricultural use.

In more recent years it had fallen into disrepair, with fly tipping, hazardous waste, and huge rats feeding in the rubbish. I cleared it, restored it, and brought it back into safe agricultural use for the benefit of the whole local area.

I have offered a fair compromise:
✔ access through the southern gate when not in use, with grazing intended for 6 months of the year
✔ responsible mesh fencing to reduce dog interest 

Yet there has been no consultation with me or local residents.

Before I purchased the land in 2021, nearly 300 local people supported keeping it as grazing land, with no objection from Eton Town Council and positive support from the Eton Wick Village Association. Eton College suggested this land to use as an overflow.

What makes this worse is that the action appears to have been driven by pressure from just two individuals, resulting in what many local people feel is a serious abuse of power against one land custodian. Personally, it has had serious impact on my health.

The question our community must ask is simple: what real benefit does removing this equine fence bring to local residents?
The field remains protected, responsibly managed, available for seasonal access, and preserved for future grazing.

This is bigger than one fence.
It is about protecting local green space, responsible land management, and securing Eton Wick land for future grazing.

🙏 Please sign and share this petition to urge the ’Open Spaces Society’ to withdraw the court application immediately.