Edward Stanley, 19th Earl of Derby

Edward Richard William Stanley, 19th Earl of Derby, DL (born 10 October 1962) is a British peer. He is known for ownership of the racehorse Ouija Board and for his protracted attempts to build 1,200 houses and a large industrial estate on 160 acres (0.65 km²) of historic studland he inherited in Newmarket, Suffolk, during which he engaged in legal and High Court action^[1] against local residents. During the dispute, his Wikipedia page was also alleged to have been edited by his PR firm after information relating to his court battles with local residents and Hatchfield plans were repeatedly removed.^[2]

The plans were widely criticised in the local^[3] and national^[4] British media, and were rejected by Newmarket Town Council,^[5] Forest Heath District Council^[6] and the Secretary of State.^[7] Following the failure of the application to build 1,200 houses and an industrial estate,^[8] Lord Derby submitted another planning application to mark all the land for development and build 400 houses on it immediately. Newmarket Town Council rejected the plans,^[9] as did all Newmarket's representatives on Forest Heath District Council.^[10] After the plans were approved by a majority decision,^[11] they were immediately appealed and called in by the Secretary of State.^[12]

A decision was delayed until December 2015, after an independent report^[13] found that Newmarket's horse racing industry employed over 8,500 people^[14] and contributed over £200 million^[15] to the local economy each year. It was estimated that the Earl would make £40 million personally from development of the studland,^[16] if approved.

Activities

Edward Stanley (also known as "Teddy")^[17] was born to Hugh Stanley and his wife Rose Stanley (née Birch). He lives at Knowsley Hall near Liverpool,^[17] and also has a residence in London.

Stanley inherited the title of Earl of Derby in 1994, on the death of an uncle.^[18] He also inherited the Knowsley Estate, the Knowsley Safari Park and Stanley House Stud on Hatchfield Farm.^[19] He is president of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce,^[20] serves as a member of the University of Liverpool Council^[21] (receiving an Honorary Degree from the university in 2008)^[22] and is one of seven trustees of the Cameron House Foundation, which provides reduced-rate bursaries to Cameron House School, a £5625-per-term private pre-prep and prep school in the prestigious Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London.^[23][24] Stanley married Caroline Neville, the daughter of Lord Braybrooke of Audley End. The couple have three children:

• Lady Henrietta Stanley (b. 1997)
• Edward John Robin Stanley, Lord Stanley, Heir to title (b. 1998)
• The Honourable Oliver Stanley (b. 2002)

Their son Edward Stanley is the godson of Prince Andrew, Duke of York,^[25] and was Page of Honour to Queen Elizabeth II between 2008 and 2012,^[26] appearing in three Garter services and four State Openings of Parliament. He held the Garter around the leg of Prince William during his installation as 1000th Knight of the Garter.^[27]

Knowsley Estate

The Knowsley Estate has residential properties in the rural parishes of Knowsley, Eccleston, Rainford, Bickerstaffe and Ormskirk. It also offers commercial properties as part of the Stanley Grange Business Village, converted from a range of Victorian farm buildings on the estate and opened in June 2013.^[28]

The Grade 1 listed Knowsley Hall and surrounding 2,500 acres^[29] of parkland have also been used as locations for several television programmes and films including Apparitions (2008), The Liver Birds (2007) as well as television soap operas, Hollyoaks and Coronation Street. In 2008, the hall received a five-star gold rating for accommodation from inspectors at VisitEngland, the only stately home to hold it.^[30] In 2010, Lord Derby announced his ‘Green’ policies for the estate, which included conservation and generation of efficient energy usage.^[31]

Hatchfield Farm and thoroughbred horse racing

Lord Derby's maternal grandmother, Catherine, was a well known racehorse trainer in Wiltshire notably College House, Lambourn, from where she sent out The Schweppes Gold Trophy winner Ra Nova, amongst others. The Epsom Derby was named after the 12th Earl of Derby while The Oaks was named after the 12th Earl's house near Epsom. The Derby family can trace its horse racing heritage back to the 5th Earl of Derby in the sixteenth century.^[32]

Lord Derby usually has one or sometimes two horses in training each year from Hatchfield stud farm, managed by his brother Hon. Peter Stanley. Home to a small number of broodmares, the Earl's policy is to sell his colts and race the fillies. The Earl currently owns Ouija Board, winner of seven The Group/Grade 1 races, including the Epsom Oaks, Irish Oaks and Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf in 2004, and the last-named race again in 2006. She also won the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot in June 2006. She was third in the Japan Cup following that last win, and was retired after going lame before her intended final start in the Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin in December 2006. Ouija Board won over three million pounds in prize money. The Earl has published a book about her, Ouija Board: A Mare in a Million.^[33]

Derby's proposal to build 1,200 houses and a large industrial estate on historic studland at Hatchfield stud farm in Newmarket, Suffolk, was met with huge opposition from local residents,^[34] businesses and the area's largest employers, including Tattersalls, the Jockey Club, Newmarket Racecourse, Newmarket's elected councillors, leading trainers and the local resident group Save Historic Newmarket.^[35]

They argued that the Earl's plan to build up to 1,200 houses and a large industrial estate would undermine present efforts to recognise Newmarket as a World Heritage Site and is unnecessary as the town and surrounding area already have a large surplus of vacant houses.^[36] They have also argued that the town is already heavily congested and that the major increase in traffic^[37] from 1,200 new houses and an industrial estate will make it even more difficult for over 2,500 local horses who need to access the town's world-famous exercise grounds each day to do so,^[38] and that due to current congestion such movements already cause traffic jams for commuters.^[36]

There are 15,000 residents and 3,000 racehorses in the area around Newmarket.^[39] Racehorses still walk through the town to training grounds on the town's heath, holding up traffic and sometimes provoking frustration from motorists.^[40] The development would increase the local population by 33%, raising tensions and ultimately driving out the training yards.^[41] The British Horseracing Association and Tattersalls, have suggested that annual turnover of £175 million in horse sales could be jeopardised by the project.^[42]

The Earl of Derby rejected criticisms, stating that only 600 homes would be built by 2021, with the possibility of another 600 by 2030, although there is no such schedule confirmed in the plans. He also claimed that some of those objecting to the proposal contributed to the original consultation, where they did not raise any objections, however, no evidence for his claim has even been produced and those opposed to his plans strongly dispute that they were ever consulted.

On 1 February 2010 Newmarket Town Council objected to Derby's proposed development on a number of grounds,^[43] and when Derby's application to Forest Heath district council was considered by its planning committee on 2 June the members voted unanimously to refuse it on a number of grounds.^[44] A later attempt to allow council planning officers to take control of the application was also unanimously rejected by councillors.

Derby then applied for permission to join council planning officers fighting local residents' application for a judicial review of the 'flawed' planning strategy which could have allowed his development.^[45] On 25 March 2011, a High Court judge, Mr Justice Collins, quashed the entire planning strategy relating to Newmarket. Derby and the planning officers were ordered to pay 90% of local residents' costs and were refused permission to appeal.^[46]

Derby then appealed to the Planning Inspectorate against the district council's decision to refuse his planning application. Local residents were forced to raise around £1 million to fight the appeal.^[3] On 23 March 2012, Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, dismissed Lord Derby's appeal.^[47]

Lord Derby then submitted another application to build 400 houses on the land and mark all the land for development.^[37] Newmarket Town Council rejected the plans again,^[48] as did all of Newmarket's representatives on Forest Heath District Council.^[49] Councillors from other towns voted for the plans, but they were immediately appealed and called in by the Secretary of State.^[34]

A decision is was delayed until December 2015, after an independent report^[50] found that Newmarket's horse racing industry employed over 8,500 people^[14] and contributed over £200 million^[51] to the local economy each year. Whilst 160 acres of farmland in Suffolk is valued at around £1.8 million,^[52] if Lord Derby can get planning permission the land would be worth £45m.

Ancestry

References

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Derby
• http://www.thepeerage.com/p6957.htm#i69565