10 years ago this is what quarter of a million pound would buy you a stretch of
land maybe 200 - 300 Metres that way and 100 or so meters that way once used for recreation for
runners dog walkers children playing football you name it it all happened here on the edge
of the town just there but no longer because the landowner that spent quarter of a million
pound is seemingly doing nothing with it other than blocking off with this ironically rather
not safe fence which he insists is there for health and safety reasons but it's now leaning
in quite close to my head as I walk up and down the path welcome to the somerset Iron
Curtain almost 10 years ago to the day Mendip District Council had a piece of
land up for sale on the outskirts of FR in Somerset now this was deemed as one
of the last green spaces in Fr certainly within its boundaries so a campaign was
set up save our space led by Mrs nag and they raised a rather impressive
100,000 this was an impressive amount of money but some asset
District Council deemed that it wasn't enough because that land was earmarked
for development in steps Mr brunt to save the day because he puts in an offer the council
can't refuse to £250,000 for the plot of land arguably what he did then made matters even
worse you see Mr brunt had absolutely no intention of saving the space and instead Mr brunt did
this he was quoted as suggesting he was protecting his property and for health
and safety reasons Mr brunt suggested further that he wanted to put cattle out here and allow
them to graze and he has every right to do so every right to do what he wants to do with the
land as long as he doesn't block the right way so if you'd have walked this path a while back
and looked in either direction well you'd have seen a lot of things you'd have seen
kids playing footballs you'd have seen people walking dogs Runners this people enjoying the
space for around about 25 to 30 years before this the Iron Curtain and it's um seen better
days so who really is it fault here is there a fault that we need to even consider is it
the Walkers the dog walkers is it a land owner Mr brunt has every right to put up this fence
will be a rather imposing Monumental one that definitely has seen better days to the point
that it's leaning in less than a met Gap either side and I feel like I'm going to spike my head
on some of those the right to Ram campaign have suggested that Mr brunt has turn the land here
from a park something resembling East Germany 40 years ago they added that people here have
been using the land for decades for recreation and the land needs to be returned to a social
benefit for all the biggest point here that Mr brunt had made that he wanted to graze cattle
here well that makes perfect sense so potentially segregating dog walkers and the cattle would be
a wise thing to do but they're not mutually exclusive dogs on leads is a sign I've seen
countless times so for the last 10 years or so people have been trying to discuss the rights
and the wrongs it's public land it's not public land it's privately owned but we've been using it
for years but it's my land I want to graze but maybe just maybe there is something else we've
yet to consider about this rather ugly fence let us not forget that this was a council piece of
land they seem to inherit and it was sold where is the responsibility there forget the Fallout
between brunt and the public there will be no argument here had the land been sold for £1,000
as a Community Asset so really this potentially was caused out of greed on the council's part
why not take that £100,000 and turn it into a Community Asset because it really would have
been be really Keen to know your thoughts on the Rights and Wrongs of this perhaps you'd
be able to put them in the comment below I've been puled thanks for listening to
the short waffle this week back next week with a big adventure thanks for
watching