Two weeks in: building the campaign for Lower Field

Thank you to everyone who has joined the discussion, shared information, completed our survey, followed our new social channels and offered to help over the past two weeks. The response has made it very clear how much the Lower Field and wider site mean to people in Totnes and beyond.

Our organising group is now meeting regularly to bring together what we are learning, coordinate the different areas of work and agree what happens next.

Our aim is to work towards the best possible outcome for the community. We want to be ambitious, while taking the time to understand the facts and the options available before committing to any particular solution.

What we’re working on

Several strands of work are now moving forward in parallel:

• Public access and rights of way – investigating the long history of people walking through and using the site, gathering evidence and exploring how access might be protected formally.
• Planning and protection of green space – exploring whether stronger protection for green space, recreation and public access can be secured through planning policy, legal documents and formal agreements affecting the site.
• Community ownership and future options – considering whether there could be a realistic route for some or all of the site to remain in community hands, including the relevance of its Asset of Community Value status and proposed community right-to-buy legislation.
• The history of the land – examining archives, deeds, correspondence and previous campaigns to build the fullest possible picture of the land’s history, the disposal process and earlier consultations.
• Engagement with decision-makers – developing constructive relationships with KEVICC, Education South West, local councillors, our MP and others who could help shape what happens next.

People with experience in campaigning, planning, land and community ownership, rights of way, law, communications and local government are already helping with this work, and further expert advice is being sought.

If you have professional expertise or practical skills that could help, please get in touch at friendsoflowerfield@gmail.com or leave a message in the Discussion group. We have received many generous offers and may not be able to involve everyone directly in the organising group, but there will be plenty of ways to contribute as the campaign develops.

How we’re working

A great deal of information has emerged over the past two weeks. One of our priorities is to keep the campaign factual, organised and transparent.

We now have clear workstreams, shared research and regular organisers’ meetings, with updates being reported back to the wider community. The organising group will remain relatively small so that it can work effectively, while drawing on the much wider pool of knowledge, experience and practical help available across the community.

Our website, community survey and social channels are now live.

The website at www.friendsoflowerfield.org is the main home for campaign information, news, evidence and ways to get involved. Our social channels will help us share updates more widely and reach people who may have a connection with the site but are not part of the WhatsApp community.

The WhatsApp community remains an important place for discussion, but you should not need to follow every message to understand what is happening. Announcements and important updates will be posted in the Announcements section.

How you can help

One of our most important tasks is building a strong evidence base showing how the site has been used by the community, both now and over many years.

Please complete the community survey through the website and encourage other people who have used the site to do the same. The evidence collected could support several strands of the campaign, including work on rights of way, planning and green-space protection, as well as demonstrating the site’s long history of community use.

We are particularly interested in:

• Old photographs or videos showing informal community use. Old class and local Facebook groups could be useful, although photographs taken solely as part of normal school activity are unlikely to help.
• Walking or running records, including Strava routes.
• Memories of when, where and how you have used the site, and what it has meant to you.
• Information about sports, clubs, events and other recreational or social activities that have taken place there.
• Knowledge or documents relating to previous campaigns or decisions about the land.

You can also send relevant information or evidence to friendsoflowerfield@gmail.com.

There will be a community gathering and celebration of the space on Saturday 19 September from 11am. We’ll be there and would love to see you too.

Please follow and share our social channels, complete the survey and keep talking to others about the campaign. People can support the Lower Field wherever they now live.

This latest phase of the campaign began around two weeks ago, but it builds on many years of work by local people who have fought to protect this space and keep it accessible to the whole community.

We have already made significant progress. Our focus now is on establishing the facts, preserving the options available and building the strongest possible case for a future in which the Lower Field continues to serve the community.