Our campaign has always been about protecting our park. The FOI disclosures reveal it's also about protecting our town from the consequences of serious procedural failures.
Here’s what the documents show:
🔹 NCT entered secret negotiations 17 months before the public consultation
🔹 They accepted NHS assurances without checking any of the legal risks
🔹 They believed (wrongly) that there were “no covenants.”
🔹 They offered to build the car park themselves
🔹 They haven't followed Section 123 LGA 1972 procedures for protected open space
🔹 They broke the first Gunning Principle - consultation at a formative stage
The council accepted NHS assurances at face value and made commitments without understanding the legal risks. These aren't minor oversights - they create serious vulnerability for our entire community.
Help fund the defence at Gofundme
Why we need your help now
If the council proceeds despite these issues, the legal challenges are inevitable:
- Legal challenges over consultation
- Legal challenges over restrictive covenants
- Legal challenges over open space law (Section 123 LGA 1972)
- Potential judicial review
- Potential involvement of the Local Government Ombudsman
All of this costs money - money the council's approach has made necessary.
Every donation funds:
- Legal advice
- Specialist planning law support
- Potential judicial review preparation
- Supporting a community challenge to stop unlawful development
We didn't create this situation. But we must be prepared to defend our park.
The procedural failures are documented. We're raising funds to ensure proper legal oversight and accountability.
Please share this petition with friends and family. We need the support of the community to help find a solution to VIN parking that actually solves the problem