A small patch of woodland in Selsdon, used as a public open space for decades, has been put up for sale for just £20,000 – and the local Tory councillor says that there is nothing Mayor Jason Perry or his council can do about it.
Up for sale: at £20,000 Ashen Grove, and its protected badger setts, seems cheap
Ashen Grove is a Grade 2 Site of Importance for Nature Conservation, according to Croydon Council. Locals suggest that it might be classified as “semi-ancient woodland”, having survived development of most kinds since Medieval times.
It has active and extensive badger setts in the woods, which ordinarily should put any prospective residential developer off buying the site.
Ashen Grove is, or at least was, owned by Taylor Wimpey, from the time that they built the Selsdon Vale estate. Taylor Wimpey looked into building on the grove a few years ago, but for nature and practical reasons – vehicle access is poor – it wasn’t really an option.
The owners may now see it as a liability, as locals have complained about the site not being maintained, and hence the owners have decided to put it up for sale.
According to a committee member, the Selsdon Residents’ Association “is keeping an eye on what’s going on as local people are concerned”.
One observation is that the guide price is suspiciously cheap.
Neat plot: Ashen Grove escaped development when Wimpey built the Selsdon Vale estate around it
On social media, one concerned local said: “Residents should pool in and buy it. That way it can never be built on.”
Another source said, “A fully functioning council might consider buying it and maintaining it as a local green space.”
But Croydon doesn’t have a fully functioning council, as Andy Stranack, a member of the cabinet that hardly ever meets in the Jason Perry-run Town Hall, admitted last night.
“The Selsdon councillors are aware of the speculation around the sale by auction of land commonly known as Ashen Grove,” the Selsdon Vale and Forestdale councillor posted on social media.
“This is a private sale of land and has nothing to do with the council,” Stranack wrote, washing his, and Mayor Perry’s, hands of any responsibility for this particular bit of green open space.
Watching brief: Andy Stranack
Regular readers may remember Jason Perry giving a pre-election promise of not allowing any of Croydon’s precious green spaces to be flogged off or concreted over… before setting about selling slices of parkland. Other council-owned assets might yet be up for grabs by profit-hungry developers.
In his note on social media, Stranack appeared to attempt to provide an undertaking about protecting Ashen Grove from development which he is in no position to offer, especially with Keir Starmer’s Labour government’s apparent mission to ignore Green Belt protections.
“Both the Croydon Local Plan and the London Plan have policies that protect this land from development,” Stranack wrote. “These include policy SP7 that protects the land as part of the green grid across Croydon, DM27 that protects the site in terms of biodiversity and policy 7.18 of the London Plan that protects green spaces across London.
“If in the future any plans come forward to develop the site, your local councillors along with residents will come together to oppose the planning application.”
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This is not far from where I live and I know this site well. For a small area it does have quite a varied woodland with lots of activity. On hearing about the sale I also went up yesterday to have a fresh look round and take lots of photos.
It shouldn’t be built on for nature reasons alone but I think neighbours would also be upset if the greenery at the end of their gardens was planned to be turned into houses/flats overlooking them. It will be interesting to see if anyone bids for it and what their reasons are for buying it – I will be keeping an eye on it
Peter, is it a SINC (site of importance for nature conservation) or has it been downgraded to ‘important green space’?
Or are the two definitions the same in Planning terms?
The most recent review of SINCs I can find on the Croydon Council website was in 2014 and it is listed as a Grade 2 SINC there https://www.croydon.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2022-01/review-of-sites-of-nature-conservation-importance.pdf
2014. So they’ve been on top of their work then…
I looked at the 2018 Local Plan and it appears to have been downgraded to ‘important green space’. The map is extremely difficult to navigate.
Whether it it is SINC grade 2 or ‘important green space’ does that confer on it protection from development?
As you know Ian, there are many different and sometimes overlapping designations for sites. They are useful as markers to protect these sites but sadly, none of them are a guarantee against development.
Conservatives and Labour have shown at national level and Croydon Council level that they are quite happy to change, bypass, or just ignore planning designations if it suits them.
So the only way to truly protect our green spaces is to elect people who genuinely care about protecting them.
Just be thankful the Badgers are there. They are the only real effective mammals in the Croydon environment to protect ancient woodland from the developers.