Thursday, June 30, 2005
Redhead's Landing
Redhead's Landing; The Quest
I have taken a while to read through all of the forms sent to me by the borough Council needed to process a formal application to have Redhead's Landing added to the designated map of Public Rights of Way. There are quite a lot of them, and I will be required to produce a professional scaled map, a plethora of other evidence, a collection of statements from people who have used the landing, and any evidence of restrictions that people may have faced in accessing the river here. I also have to contact the land owners (if known, and if possible) and post public notices on the site to inform people of my intentions and give the chance for objectors to make their views known. I need to prove that Redhead's Landing has been used by the public continuously for a period of twenty years or more.
It looks like it will be a bit of a long haul!
I'm indebted, once again, to Jimmy for sending me some more old clippings from the Shields Gazette, to be used in support of the application. I now have press clippings about this story going back to 1987, throughout this period there is a growing thread weaving it's way through the history of Tyne Slipway Engineering and it's predecessor companies, a growing litany of repeated interventions in the public's historical right to reach the riverside.
Despite the Council stating that the land is not recorded in the Land Registry, and that the current owner is unknown, a read through the Gazette clippings elicits a few clues;
1988 - Robsons Boatbuilders and McNulty's raise complaints to the Council about vandalism on the site and in response the Highways Authority applies to the Magistrates Court for an order to stop up River Street, on the grounds that it is unnecessary.
1989 - James Thompson's petition is considered by the Town Development Committee who decide to vary the stopping up order to allow continued pedestrian access to the Landing.
1995 - Judith Dunn reports in the Shields Gazette that the gates have been locked for six years now and that Councillors have voted to reinforce the Prohibition of Driving Order, she wrote "The landing-which is a pedestrian right of way-was at the centre of controversy earlier this year when fishermen reported the gates were being mysteriously locked to keep them out."
In March of that year Paul-Myles Kelly writing in the Gazette said "The gates between Robson's Boat Builders and Aker McNulty give access to a pedestrian right of way leading on to the slipway." In the same atricle he tells of how Tyne Slipway had locked the gates in order to carry out essential repair work, and further in his piece "Tyne Slipway is currently in the process of leasing the land from it's owners, the Port of Tyne Authority."
In May of that year the Gazette's Chief Reporter Jonathan Jones noted that TWM Robson's, owner of the former Robson's Boatbuilders were the culprits behind the gate's lockings, he said " Although they have no legal obligations to keep access to the landing open to boat traffic, they do have to ensure that pedestrians can pass through." This was just after the incident when Tyne and Wear Marine Engineering claimed that the gate had been locked by a crab fisherman to protect his motorcycle.
In September of 1995 the Shields Gazette carried an article about the history of Redhead's Landing which apparently was formerly known as "Wesh Shore", using the authority of the locally acclaimed historian Amy Flagg, it's use was traced back to pastural land before the development of commercial shipyards.
So if the owners in 1995 were the Port of Tyne Authority, it may be worthwhile getting in touch with them to see if they disposed it, and to whom. I will also set about investigating the decisions taken by the Borough Council during this period, hoping to build a case that says the council knew the land had a public right of way, and that they mistakenly left it out of the definitive map. If this can be proved to be true, it may make the process of a formal application a lot easier.
The gates at Redhead's Landing are once again locked today, and Tyne Slipway Engineering have failed to respond to two emails from me requesting information about land ownership and the activities of their employees in locking the gates. It has been cleaned up a fair bit since my last visit, and it would be nice to think that I could take photographs of the Tall Ships Race from "the Gut".
I think I'll ring them tomorrow.
_________________________________________________________________
I have taken a while to read through all of the forms sent to me by the borough Council needed to process a formal application to have Redhead's Landing added to the designated map of Public Rights of Way. There are quite a lot of them, and I will be required to produce a professional scaled map, a plethora of other evidence, a collection of statements from people who have used the landing, and any evidence of restrictions that people may have faced in accessing the river here. I also have to contact the land owners (if known, and if possible) and post public notices on the site to inform people of my intentions and give the chance for objectors to make their views known. I need to prove that Redhead's Landing has been used by the public continuously for a period of twenty years or more.
It looks like it will be a bit of a long haul!
I'm indebted, once again, to Jimmy for sending me some more old clippings from the Shields Gazette, to be used in support of the application. I now have press clippings about this story going back to 1987, throughout this period there is a growing thread weaving it's way through the history of Tyne Slipway Engineering and it's predecessor companies, a growing litany of repeated interventions in the public's historical right to reach the riverside.
Despite the Council stating that the land is not recorded in the Land Registry, and that the current owner is unknown, a read through the Gazette clippings elicits a few clues;
1988 - Robsons Boatbuilders and McNulty's raise complaints to the Council about vandalism on the site and in response the Highways Authority applies to the Magistrates Court for an order to stop up River Street, on the grounds that it is unnecessary.
1989 - James Thompson's petition is considered by the Town Development Committee who decide to vary the stopping up order to allow continued pedestrian access to the Landing.
1995 - Judith Dunn reports in the Shields Gazette that the gates have been locked for six years now and that Councillors have voted to reinforce the Prohibition of Driving Order, she wrote "The landing-which is a pedestrian right of way-was at the centre of controversy earlier this year when fishermen reported the gates were being mysteriously locked to keep them out."
In March of that year Paul-Myles Kelly writing in the Gazette said "The gates between Robson's Boat Builders and Aker McNulty give access to a pedestrian right of way leading on to the slipway." In the same atricle he tells of how Tyne Slipway had locked the gates in order to carry out essential repair work, and further in his piece "Tyne Slipway is currently in the process of leasing the land from it's owners, the Port of Tyne Authority."
In May of that year the Gazette's Chief Reporter Jonathan Jones noted that TWM Robson's, owner of the former Robson's Boatbuilders were the culprits behind the gate's lockings, he said " Although they have no legal obligations to keep access to the landing open to boat traffic, they do have to ensure that pedestrians can pass through." This was just after the incident when Tyne and Wear Marine Engineering claimed that the gate had been locked by a crab fisherman to protect his motorcycle.
In September of 1995 the Shields Gazette carried an article about the history of Redhead's Landing which apparently was formerly known as "Wesh Shore", using the authority of the locally acclaimed historian Amy Flagg, it's use was traced back to pastural land before the development of commercial shipyards.
So if the owners in 1995 were the Port of Tyne Authority, it may be worthwhile getting in touch with them to see if they disposed it, and to whom. I will also set about investigating the decisions taken by the Borough Council during this period, hoping to build a case that says the council knew the land had a public right of way, and that they mistakenly left it out of the definitive map. If this can be proved to be true, it may make the process of a formal application a lot easier.
The gates at Redhead's Landing are once again locked today, and Tyne Slipway Engineering have failed to respond to two emails from me requesting information about land ownership and the activities of their employees in locking the gates. It has been cleaned up a fair bit since my last visit, and it would be nice to think that I could take photographs of the Tall Ships Race from "the Gut".
I think I'll ring them tomorrow.
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