I am delighted to report that after a year of complex negotiations and successful fund raising, Streatley Parish Council has achieved its objective of purchasing the freehold of almost fifteen acres of prime land in the centre of the village from Gladedale Urban Developments Ltd. for the total sum of £750,000.

You may recall that Gladedale conducted an intensive campaign over several years in an attempt to gain support locally for the construction of around fourteen executive houses on the parcel of land they owned south of the High Street. The fact that the land in question was outside of the village settlement boundary, combined with their inability to win the support of local residents, helped to convince them that planning permission was unlikely to be granted in the foreseeable future.

With these factors in mind, and also the realisation that the recent recession had impacted adversely on land development companies generally, it was agreed between Streatley Parish Council and Streatley Preservation Action Group, that a small negotiating team from the Parish Council would approach Gladedale with a view to proposing the acquisition of the land on behalf of the village.

would be given the exclusive opportunity to raise the sum of £750,000 to acquire the land.

We were initially given three months exclusivity to allow us to test the viability of raising the challenging amounts involved. Due to the very positive response we received from villagers at our Annual Assembly in May, 2010, and the encouraging flow of financial support, the exclusivity period was extended twice by Gladedale to 31st March, 2011 to allow us to conduct our negotiations locally and to raise the required sum.

I will not dwell on the frustrations and complications we encountered during this period, but suffice to say that it was at times a steep and turbulent learning curve for all involved.

Perseverance and focus by all parties involved ensured that Contracts were exchanged on 25th February, and the Agreement was fully completed on 31st March, 2011.

The purchase took place in two separate transactions involving two separate entities.

One was the purchase of just under 8.5 acres of land opposite Streatley House and stretching to Wallingford Road. This beautiful and unique land which will now be called Streatley Meadows, will be owned and managed by The Heart of Streatley Charitable Trust on behalf of the Parish. This purchase benefits from receiving charity status from The Charities Commission. An example of which is the avoidance of Stamp Duty on the transaction.

The second, involved the purchase of around 6.5 acres of land to the south of the High Street stretching from the Reading Road to the River Thames. This land will be owned and managed by Streatley Parish Council. The reason for this is twofold since in order to raise £750,000 for the purchase of the whole of the land from Gladedale, it was necessary to lease back the land to adjoining home owners at full market value. This meant that this part of the transaction was not considered suitable by The Charities Commission for charitable status.

We will be explaining in more detail, the rationale behind the structure of the land purchase and will also be discussing our plans for the land at the Parish Council Annual Assembly, which will be held in The Morrell Rooms at 8.00pm on Monday 18th April, 2011. Everyone is invited to come along and contribute to the discussion on what will be an exciting and ongoing project to ensure the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment of Streatley Meadows is continuous and for the benefit of the villagers. The fact that we own the land makes this an ongoing and continually developing strategy.

There is much I can say about the importance and significance of this landmark achievement, but I will through lack of space, reserve much of the detail for the evening of the Parish Assembly.

Suffice to say that the success of the project was down to the focus, commitment and generosity of many people both locally and beyond. It is difficult to single out individuals in situations like this, so what I will say to all the many people who supported us in a variety of ways is; thank you sincerely for your valuable contribution to making this aspiration a reality! There were several occasions whilst awake in the wee small hours that I thought we might just be “punching above our weight”, but in the end we got there!

Prior to Gladedale agreeing to sell us the land, and due to the high levels of emotion and concern that were prevalent due to the development risk, the relationship between the village and Gladedale was severely strained. I must say however that our negotiations with Ross Brodie and his team were always friendly and positive, and in the end their pragmatism, patience and support assisted us in our efforts to reach a successful conclusion.

Finally, we hope to see you at our Annual Assembly where we will discuss our plans and ideas for the future of the beautiful asset that is Streatley Meadows.

Brian Baldwin
Chairman
Streatley Parish Council