Help protect Singlers Marsh for future generations

Singlers Marsh has been at the heart of Welwyn Village for hundreds of years.

We need to raise £40,000 to cover the legal costs of trying to register Singlers Marsh as a Village Green to give it the best possible protection against being built on.

Singlers Marsh is a much loved and well used green space in Welwyn. It has been the home of the Welwyn Festival for over 20 years. It hosts the annual charity turbo-charged duck race. It is the only place the public can access the River Mimram, a globally rare and precious chalk stream. It is a nature reserve and a wildlife site.

During lockdown, it was used more than ever before. It is a cherished piece of open countryside in the centre of our village. And yet it is at high risk of being built on.

Recent attempts to build houses in the fields all around Singlers Marsh have highlighted how great that risk is. The traffic from hundreds of new homes would clog the road network, pollute the river, urbanise the environment, and drive right through Singlers Marsh on a new road.

Village Green status gives a very high level of protection against future development, allowing the community to continue enjoying it for generations to come. Becoming a Village Green is supported by a huge majority of villagers, who gave an massive show of support for the application. But there are complex legal arguments to be made if we are to win (see https://www.wpag.org.uk/singlers-marsh for more information).

Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council (WHBC) and a developer object to the application, forcing a Public Inquiry. WHBC has employed an expensive Kings Counsel barrister. Herts County Council (HCC) have to make the decision, and they are required to appoint their own expensive barrister as an Inspector. Overall, this could easily cost up to £250,000 of taxpayers money.

An experienced barrister is needed to win the complex arguments in this highly specialist area of the law. There are multiple stages in the process, each requiring preparation and attendance. Our estimate of our legal bills is around £40,000.

We are a community organisation, with volunteers working intensively alongside the barrister to strengthen our case at every stage. Having initially received grants from the parish council and a local community group, we are now asking local residents to help us raise the money for our costs.

Can you help achieve long-term protection for Singlers Marsh? Please help the community to keep this special area for the village, now and into the future. If you can, please donate now.

£40,000 is a lot of money, and we are grateful for every donation, big and small. If you are able to gift a larger amount, please contact us directly at save@singlersmarsh.org.uk.