JANICE HENSHALL, of Wood Lane, Kingswear, Dartmouth, writes:

In response to Michael Steven's letter in your newspaper on April 13, it is he who has misunderstood the rationale of the recent Newhaven decision, not I.

I am not going to debate legal points with Mr Stevens because that is something that must be left to the lawyers at the public enquiry.

Suffice it to say that Mr Stevens has mis-described the Newhaven beach decision: although the judge conceded that there might be some instances where, in principle, a beach might be registrable as a village green, it would depend on how much of the beach was covered by tide, and how much was not.

At Newhaven only 42 per cent of the beach was ever covered by tide whereas when Lighthouse Beach is returned to its former pre-building works state (as David Southwick is obliged to Dart Harbour Navigation Authority so to do), 100 per cent of Lighthouse Beach will disappear at high tide and so there is no 'land' which would be capable of being registered as a village 'green'.

Also, at Newhaven, the owners had shut the beach only four years ago, whereas Mr Southwick shut his beach in 1999 which is many more than the five year time limit imposed by the Commons Act, for bringing a registration application after a closing up of land previously open to locals. If the council had wanted to have more chance of success it should have made the application within five years of the beach being closed.

Neither must Mr Stevens forget that the Court of Appeal ruled on March 19, that where an owner puts up signs closing a beach and locals ignore those signs, and the owner protests, then such use is not 'as of right' which is one of the necessary requirements for locals to be successful in a village green application.

As many of us know, Mr Southwick closed Lighthouse Beach and put up signs in late 1999. Michael Stevens knows this himself because he was then Clerk to the Council and wrote to Mr Southwick on January 27, 2000 stating 'The Council notes with concern the closure of the end of the path to Lighthouse Beach and access to Lighthouse Beach itself'.

Has Mr Stevens forgotten his letter? He does seem to have a very selective memory and is intent on pressing ahead with this application.

It is for all these reasons why, as a councillor, I have not been able to support the village green application and will give evidence to the public enquiry, if it proceeds, explaining my understanding of the whole history of this matter. It still seems unfair to me for the parish council to ask residents to fund this dubious application.