Here are some of our members and volunteers clearing and cleaning up around the Edenbridge War Memorials.
Why are the memorials in this state in the first place?
NHS Property Services (who own the site, see below) have closed the site and protected it with Heras fencing and 24 hour security. This is because they are going out to tender to find a developer. for the site.
The memorials are intact and in good condition, but the surrounding area is a bit of a state as weeds have grown, and debris has been blown about making a bit of a mess.
We asked if we could send in some teams to clear and tidy the area and were granted access. The team in the video above are team 1 of 4 that will be going in to do this work leading up to Remembrance Day.
It is important to note that the site is not open to the general public so please do not try to access it. This work was done by arrangement.
Well, where do we start with this one?
It all goes back to the founding of the NHS. There are various sources online that will tell you how the NHS was founded back in 1948, but here is one we found which was very interesting indeed.
It is an article called ‘The Real History of the NHS‘ and explains how the Labour government, led by Clement Attlee and Aneurin Bevan established the NHS.
This move is often celebrated, but the text argues that it was actually a significant and controversial expropriation of property. Here’s a breakdown of the key points:
Expropriation of Assets: The creation of the NHS involved the government taking over the assets of 1,143 voluntary hospitals and 1,545 municipal hospitals without compensating their original owners, which were mainly charities and local authorities.
Historical Perspective: The text questions why the Labour government felt it necessary to compensate shareholders of other nationalised industries but not the owners of the expropriated hospitals. It also critiques the modern veneration of Aneurin Bevan, suggesting that his actions were inefficient and unjust.
In essence, the text presents a critical view of the NHS’s origins, arguing that it was founded on the uncompensated seizure of charitable and municipal assets, leading to long-term inefficiencies and bureaucratic expansion.
So, there is not a lot we can do about this now, but essentially nobody put up a fight when this happened all those years ago. The article suggests that private property owners fought to protect their assets, but charities and municipalities did not have the same level of motivation or organised resistance to oppose the expropriation. The text suggests that these entities, while owning valuable hospital properties, did not exhibit the same defensive behaviour as private property owners.
This is shocking to us today as the people of Edenbridge raised £15,000 for the site, which is the equivalent to £1, 181,000 in today’s money and in 1979-1980 the League of Friends also raised a further £45,000 and spent over £1,000,000 on facilities.
It is no wonder that people are upset about the loss of this hospital, especially some of our older residents who have memories and stories of this time.
We are waiting to hear the outcome of the tender.
It is important to note that the draft NPPF paragraph 204. (which has not changed at all from the previous version) says:
“In considering any applications to remove or alter a historic statue, plaque, memorial or monument (whether listed or not), local planning authorities should have regard to the importance of their retention in situ and, where appropriate, of explaining their historic and social context rather than removal.“
Whoever answers the tender will be aware of this and will have to consider the potential of keeping the memorials in situ.
If they are to be moved, we would ask for a consultation on where they should be moved to.
We understand the current plan would be to move them to the new Edenbridge Medical Centre, but we are aware that there are a lot of people in Edenbridge who are not happy with that idea at all.
We believe the only way to ensure that the residents of Edenbridge feel listened to, would be to offer a consultation on this subject should the plan be to move the memorials.
We think the information above on the history of this site should probably have made this clear, but there has still been some debate about who owns this land. So to be crystal clear on this, you can see below that NHS Property Services own the freehold title to this land. Interestingly they only seemed to take ownership of land somewhat later than 1948 as the Summary of Title shows the date of 2013.
2024-03-07_summary_of_title_K928208_GOV.UK 2024-03-12_title_plan_K928208_GOV.UK