Old Aerial Photos Provide Crucial Evidence in ‘Village Green’ Dispute

Coalville, Leicestershire, UK - 3 April 2012 - Aerial images dating back more than twenty years have been used to resolve a dispute in the English seaside town of Broadstairs, Kent. Local residents had campaigned to have an area of wooded land close to the cricket club adopted as a village green. However, using aerial photographs from the OldAerialPhotos archive, an experienced photographic interpreter was able to dispute the claim by demonstrating insufficient evidence of use.

Bluesky supplied the accurately dated historic aerial photography from their OldAerialPhotos archive providing factual and unbiased evidence for further investigation by Bud Young of the practice Airphoto Interpretation.

Working on behalf of the owners of the two plots of contended land, Young presented evidence to the Planning Inspector, appointed by Kent County Council, at a Public Inquiry. A Chartered Landscape Architect and photographic interpreter with more than forty years’ experience of land use, Young was able to show, using the historic images, dense unusable woodland on one site and scarce evidence of path lines or other signs of public use that would be exhibited if the claim was valid. Other evidence came from documents and those who claimed to know the site; however invaluable detail was derived from the aerial images.

“By viewing the images in 3D you can get a real view of the past and uncover, or not, evidence to support claims of specific ownership or use,” commented Mr Young. “The Bluesky images are invaluable in cases such as these as they allow me to piece together all available clues without relying on hearsay or potentially biased witness statements. In this case there was simply not enough user evidence to support the claim on the land as a village green and the Inspector ruled in favour of our clients.”

The imagery supplied by Bluesky forms part of historically important archive that includes some of the earliest commercial aerial survey images, military photography from World War II and many national archives. Offering a record of most major UK cities and towns, transport and utility infrastructure and commercial property developments, the images are an invaluable resource for anyone with a personal or professional interest in local studies, genealogy, boundary disputes, environmental land use research or town planning.

Mr Young concluded, “In this instance we were able to secure a positive outcome for our clients using seven sets of photography. Ideally one would wish to find that a site has been photographed every year but that is a rarity though one recent case used 16 year dates most from OldAerialPhotos.”

OldAerialPhotos is a division of Bluesky International Ltd. Holding the largest collection of historically significant commercial aerial photos in the UK, OldAerialPhotos' remit is to preserve, enhance and make these archives available. OldAerialPhotos understands the national importance of such images as a unique record of the development of the UK and has a mission to continue to make them accessible for future generations.

Visitors to www.oldaerialphotos.com can search by simply entering a postcode, address or grid reference. Detailed search results, including the age and ground coverage, of every image that matches the search criteria are displayed and the visitor can choose to purchase a hard copy print, digital image file or photopack which includes historical and current day photos as well as certificates of authentification.

Bluesky is a UK-based specialist in aerial imaging and remote sensing data collection and processing.  An internationally recognised leader with projects extending around the globe, Bluesky is proud to work with prestigious organisations such as Google, the BBC and Government Agencies. Bluesky has unrivalled expertise in the creation of seamless, digital aerial photography, 3D landscape/cityscape visualisations and prints and also runs a national mapping centre, providing digital mapping, satellite imagery and aerial photography including ultra-high resolution imagery of cities and towns.

Airphoto Interpretation is a small, well equipped practice with more than thirty years’ experience in the use of aerial photographs in litigation. With experience of High Court, County Court and planning inquiries, Airphoto Interpretation can provide advice and support in case of adverse possession, boundary disputes, land use and public access claims and other types of land based disputes.