Harpenden’s Member of Parliament Bim Afolami MP has written to the Mayor of Harpenden to ask Harpenden Town Council to purchase Kinsbourne Green Common, after it was revealed the Common would be auctioned.
The 35 acre Common – set to be sold at auction on the 21st September with a guide price of £150k – is an amenity green space for residents in both north Harpenden and Kinsbourne Green. In his letter, Mr Afolami said that the Town Council would make an “excellent custodian” of the Common, protecting it as an important amenity space for Harpenden over the longer term and ensuring that there is no future risk of developers attempting to build on the site.
Bim Afolami MP said,
“Residents have shared their concerns with me over the future of Kinsbourne Green Common – and I share those concerns. This is a crucial green space for people in Harpenden and Kinsbourne Green and it is important that it should be owned and managed for the benefit of local residents.
“Harpenden Town Council is already a significant local landowner, managing Harpenden Common, Rothamsted Park and a number of smaller greens and open spaces in Harpenden. I believe that they would be the ideal long-term owner of this site.
“I urge them to consider engaging with the sale process, to safeguard the Common for future residents of Harpenden and Kinsbourne Green.”
