Who we are;

We are Stephanie Edwards and Gareth Eaton. We run 'The Campaign for Eastern Fields'. We are neighbours, just 2 ordinary people who live in Exeter. We would never have chosen to step into the public and legal arenas but our love of Eastern Fields and desire to protect it now and in the future has led us to devote over 6 years to trying to protect this vital green space. This has predominantly been through an application to register the land as a Town or Village Green. This registration would give protection to the field from development and allow our continued use of the field. We would not have achieved what we have so far without the support of our local community.

Brief Description

Eastern Fields in Exeter is a precious green space in an urban environment. It is an oasis for people and wildlife, surrounded by housing estates and industrial land. It is a tranquil and safe environment. Eastern Fields is a mixed landscape of mature trees and new plantations, mown grass, and rough grassland sided by a brook. In recent years the city council planted the young trees to encourage wildlife and the birds, insects and animals have all moved into their new habitat. Eastern Fields has been used since the 1950's for informal recreation. It is a place where children have played for generations, whether ball games or building dens. It is a place for exercise, fresh air and peace from the stresses of daily life. It is a community space where we have made friendships. Eastern Fields is valued for all the known benefits that green and open spaces give to people.

Exeter City Council, who owns the land, is planning to build a link road through the field plus develop the lower half. Such development would destroy the field in its entirety as safe recreation land and as wildlife habitat. There are massive new housing developments on the eastern side of the city and Eastern Fields will be ever more important and needed as green space. The field is important to our lives and we do not want to lose it. It is a unique and beautiful place and part of our local history.

When our barrister saw Eastern Field he asked incredulously ’Why are you having to fight for this? Yet for the last 6 years we have been fighting for Eastern Fields. It has been a huge commitment in our lives; Let no one underestimate for instance how much work preparing for a public Inquiry takes.

    These are the stages we have gone through in our fight so far;

In 2011 we engaged with our local community and started an informal network ‘The Campaign for Eastern Fields’

In September 2011 we applied for Village Green status and a Public Inquiry was held in March 2013 over 11 days. We lost this inquiry on limited legal grounds and the Secretary of State decided not to register Eastern Fields as a Town Green.

In September 2013 a local resident and fellow campaigner challenged this decision by an appeal in the High Court with our full support. In July 2015 in The High Courts of Justice we won the legal challenge and the decision not to register the field was quashed.

A redetermination of our application was held in a second public inquiry in 2016 which we again won and on 5^th October 2016 the Secretary of State decided that Eastern Fields should be registered as a Town Green

Just two days before Christmas 2016 and two weeks before the right to appeal ran out, Exeter City Council served us with proceedings of their intention to challenge in The High Court the decision of the second public Inquiry to register Eastern Fields.

We are now seeking to defend the Secretary of State’s decision and challenge this appeal and need funds to do so. We are not wealthy and cannot afford to instruct lawyers on our own. We have fundraised as a community for six years with fetes, car boot sales etc. and paid our own legal costs for the two public Inquiries and contributed towards the 2015 Appeal costs. In order to continue our David and Goliath Battle against the City Council we need greater support and funding. We cannot give up now and are appealing for funds so that we can hold onto the registration that rightly protects Eastern Fields.

 Our target of £5000 is the first stage of our costs which are for drafting our ’summary grounds of resistance’ i.e. presenting our case as to why the City Council should not be given permission to appeal. This has been drafted by Mr Simon Lane, our barrister, whose total commitment to us through every stage of our legal journey has been well beyond the call of his duties. He is supported by our solicitor from the successful High Court Appeal Harry Campbell. We HAVE to meet this target to claim any of the pledges so please support us to reach it. We will then add a stretch target to meet High Court Costs should permission to appeal be granted. If it is not granted we stop there and celebrate the on-going registration of the field. We would also give our long term commitment to the care of Eastern Fields with a willingness to work with Exeter City Council to maintain it as a resource if it is registered.

     Thank you so much for your support