13th September 2003
A TUG-of-war between allotment holders and a golf club has finally come to an end - after 17 years of courtroom battles and a pounds 200,000 legal bill.
The row between gardeners at Billesley Lane Allotments and Moseley Golf Club is believed to be the longest in Birmingham's history.
But now at the High Court in London the matter has been resolved once and for all with both sides claiming victory.
And neither side will be out of pocket as the Treasury Solicitor will pay all the legal costs.
The row began in 1986 when the club agreed to lease three-and-a-half acres of its land off Southlands Road to Birmingham City Council for allotments.
Five years ago the club announced it wanted the land back to build a practice range.
After a campaign by furious plot-holders, the council issued a compulsory purchase order to keep the site as allotments.
Since then the matter has been back and forwards between the courts and public inquiries.
In January of this year the council was told its application for the compulsory purchase order had been refused by a planning inspector.
But now the authority has been told the planning inspector's decision was 'flawed' which paves the way for them to seek another compulsory purchase order.
But in the meantime the council has struck a compromise deal with the golf club and has decided not to pursue another CPO - much to the fury of plot-holders.
The golf club is allowing the allotment association to keep one acre of land for 14 years - but the remaining land will be turned into a practice range.
The deal means the existing 37 plots will be reduced to 20 much smaller plots.
Mark Jackson, spokesman for the allotments association, said they were unhappy with the council's actions.
'Having pursued a misleading legal strategy, the council's lawyers have brokered a secret deal with the exclusive and select golf club,' he said.
'The allotments are now on death row. And all this has been done at a time when there are waiting lists for allotments in the city.'
A city council spokeswoman said they had decided not to apply for another compulsory purchase order after consulting their solicitors.
'Our legal advice is that the outcome would be the same,' she said.
'In addition, the compromise offer made by the golf club, which was accepted by the allotment association, was on condition that no further CPO action was sought.'
CAPTION(S):
PLAY ON: Moseley Golf Club; ALL PITCH-IN: Gardening enthusiast Geoff Bainbridge at the Billesley Allotments
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