How Foreign Speculators Use the British Countryside as a Safe Deposit Box

Freeman's Wood is a plot of land on the edge of Lancaster. The land has been used by local people for decades, and they have regarded it as common land, but fencing was installed around it in 2012, resulting in public unrest and reports in the local press.

The land is owned by a property investment company which is registered in Bermuda, and its owners are thought to be based in Hong Kong. The director of the UK development company for the site is a Punjab-born, polo-playing friend of Prince Charles. His son plays polo with Prince Harry. So this scrubby semi-derelict patch of land has direct links to global economic, political, and social networks.

Should the British countryside be a precious resource for the British people, or should it simply be regarded as cheap alternative to renting a safety deposit box? Having made their money in dubioius circumstances, but now being fearful of their safety, the global elite buy British land secure in the knowlege that it will not be arbitrarily appropriated, but contribute nothing to the fabric society that protects its ownership.

For more information see the Landed (Freeman's Wood) project.