On 22nd February 2021 the following letter was sent by SH&DCRA to Brancaster Parish Council and copied to; the National Trust, the MP James Wild and the Royal West Norfolk Golf Club. It highlights the all of the evidence for what seems to be a huge misuse of funds from the Brancaster Beach Road Car Park. NOBODY SEEMS TO WANT TO DISCUSS THESE MATTERS WITH SH&DCRA!

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The evidence can be seen here.

 

Beach Road Car Park at Brancaster

 

Grazing Rents to Common Rightholders

 

Here, attached, are the details of agreements between the Royal West Norfolk Golf Club (RWNGC), the National Trust (NT) and Brancaster Parish Council (BPC) as researched from the Council minutes. There are also copies of auditor’s reports from 1952, 2017 and a letter from the solicitor instructed by Scolt Head and District Common Rightholders Association (SH&DCRA) to look into the distribution of car park receipts. The recent BPC auditors report can also be seen attached and advises the council to take legal advice regarding its use of car park receipts.

 

BPC held a meeting on Wednesday of February 1965.

The RWNGC was an item on the agenda and a minute (on page 12 of 23 attached) read as follows; secretary (RWNGC) had replied to the letter requesting a copy of the car park constitution and in his reply said that there is no constitution. All negotiations between the Parish Council and the golf club appear in the minutes (BPC) of the 3rd of April 1956. This letter refers back to the following meeting:

 

Before going to this meeting in detail, it is clear that negotiations within the RWNGC had been going on for some time (see pages 1 to 5 attached) as copies of letters between RWNGC officials show. It is the chain of letters and the following approval by the Parish Meeting that the Assistant District Auditor uses (see pages 6 and 7 of 23) to confirm that the agreement is legally binding. The BPC parish meeting had been held on Tuesday 3rd of April 1956. Over 60 people attended and the subject for discussion was Beach Road Car Park. The meeting minutes (page 13 of 23 attached) at number 3 state: Any remaining profit, subject to a management fee of £50 payable to the golf club, shall be paid - 25% to the Parish Council and 75% to the golf club. Further down in the minutes (bottom of page 14 of 23) it states that; …profits retained in the village; this profit will be compensation for grazing rights. The meeting closed (page 20 of 23) with a vote 34 in favour and 10 against.

 

The annual general meeting of BPC was held on the 12th of April 1965. At this meeting the sale of Brancaster Manorial rights was discussed and new arrangements were agreed concerning distribution of the car park receipts. The minutes read; …the Manorial Trust Committee taking 20%, Parish Council 20% and the golf club 60% of the profits from the car park. The introduction of the third party, the Brancaster Manorial Trust, would seem to be the origin of the 20% share that the NT receives today. (See later sale of manor to NT.)

 

It is clear therefore that the monies from the car park have never been a “donation” as they form part of a legal arrangement with BPC, who were at that time acting for the common rightholders, and were “compensation for the loss of grazing rights”.

 

From 1968 the new arrangements concerning registration of common rights over CL124 became legally recognised in the Register of Common Rights held by the Registration Authority; Norfolk County Council. From that time there was a requirement for all parties concerned with the use of the common to consult with the common rightholders. BPC had at that time no mandate to speak, or act, for the common rightholders. The auditor’s letters (see pages 8 and 9 of 23) refer to this. It was not until 1984 that Scolt Head and District Common Rightholders Association was formed to look after the interests of the common rightholders. However, and unfortunately one might say, BPC continued to collect car park receipts from the RWNGC and, it seems, use them to offset against the parish precept.

 

An explanation is required here as to the nature of the common rights and who holds them: The common rights over CL124 are “rights in gross”, “corporeal hereditaments” or, as put on the Government website these are; Rights that are not attached to the land are known as ‘rights in gross’. They are deeds. You can sell or lease rights in gross to anyone in the same way as any other property. Many of the “rights in gross” over CL124 have been sold away from the village.

 

The other point that needs making here in relation to using these receipts to offset the precept is that, not every person or household in the village has a common right. In fact it would seem that it is a minority of inhabitants that have common rights today.