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Registration

Pilot implementation of Part 1 of the Commons Act 2006

In England, implementation of the registration provisions in Part 1 of the the Act will begin with a pilot scheme starting on 1 October 2008. The commons registration authorities participating in the pilot are: Devon, Kent (but not including unitary authorities in these first two counties), Cornwall, Hertfordshire, Herefordshire, Lancashire (but not Blackpool), and Blackburn with Darwen. The pilot will be commenced by the Commons Act (Commencement No. 4 and Savings) (England) Order 2008.

The Commons Registration (England) Regulations 2008, which apply to the participating commons registration authorities only, prescribe the process for making applications to amend the registers of common land and town and village greens. The pilot allows applications, and proposals (effectively the registration authorities applying to themselves), to be submitted for both the registration of new events affecting the register and also past events which went unrecorded between the late 1960s and the present day. This includes the registration of land that was missed during the first wave of registration under the 1965 Act and also the deregistration of land that was wrongly registered under that Act.

See below for links to the regulations and commencement orders, together with guidance to commons registration authorities. Guidance to applicants in the pilot areas will be published below during September 2008.  

A review of the pilot will take place during 2009 and national roll-out is expected to commence in stages from October 2010.

Statutory Instruments and Guidance

Consultation

Defra consulted on proposals for implementing part 1 of the Commons Act 2006 in England between 3 July and 28 September 2007.  The consultation set out Defra’s plans for secondary legislation to enable the commons registers to be updated. Defra published a summary of responses [PDF] (235 KB) to the consultation in January 2008.

Commons Act and Registration Authorities

The Commons Act 2006 signals prospective new responsibilities for commons registration authorities in updating and maintaining registers of common land and town and village greens. Emails are sent to commons registration officers in England from time to time about the functions of registration officers under the Commons Act. Copies of the emails can be seen below.

  • Email sent on commencement of Part 1 in pilot areas and consultation on charges for searches – 7 August 2008 [PDF] (47 KB)
  • Email sent on withdrawal of green applications and other matters - 4 January 2008 [PDF] (55 KB)
  • Email sent on Commencement Order no. 3 and other matters - 28 September 2007 [PDF] (55 KB)
  • Email sent about arrangements for searches of the commons registers - 22 August 2007 [PDF] (19 KB)
  • Email sent about rescheduled arrangements for searches of the common registers - 31 July 2007 [PDF] (25 KB)
  • Email sent about revised arrangements for searches of the commons registers - 25 June 2007 [PDF] (22 KB)
  • Email sent about arrangements for searches of the commons registers - 30 May 2007 [PDF] (18 KB)
  • Email sent about new arrangements for searches of the commons registers - 29 March 2007 [PDF] (36 KB)
  • Email sent on Commencement Order no. 2 - 26 February 2007 [PDF] (41 KB)
  • Email sent about implementation of Part I in 2007 - 12 January 2007 [PDF] (39 KB)
  • Email sent on Commencement Order no. 1 - 22 September 2006 [PDF] (37 KB)
  • Email sent on the Royal Assent - 25 July 2006 [PDF] (38KB)

New Arrangements for Searches of the Commons Registers

New arrangements for searches of the commons registers began on 1 August 2007. They comprise a modification of the previous non-statutory form CON29 part II used for supplementary searches of local authorities on a purchase of land or property, to be known instead as form CON29O, so as to include an optional question 22 about the commons registers. The new arrangements apply to England and Wales. The existing statutory form 21 for searches of the commons registers was abolished in England and Wales on 1 October 2007.

Project to Establish Ownership of Rights of Common - Bampton Common, Cumbria

The Commons Registration Act 1965 required local authorities in England and Wales to establish registers of common land and town and village greens within their areas: recording the extent of the land, the owners of the land and any rights held over the common.

Under the Commons Act 2006 the statutory registers are required to be updated and all future events affecting the registers are to be notified. There is no obligation for commoners themselves to register ownership changes of dominant tenements.

Defra commissioned Capita Symonds to carry out a pilot study to define a methodology to identify the ownership of rights recorded in the rights section of the common land registers. The final report sets out the principal findings of the study which concentrated on Bampton Common in Cumbria.

Adverse possession on common land and town or village greens

Defra has published a guidance note on the extent to which adverse possession can be claimed over land registered as common land or town or village green, and the consequences of a successful claim.  The guidance note should be read with guidance published by HM Land Registry on registering title to land through adverse possession.

Commons and Greens Registration and Management Association

Jim Knight, Minister for Rural Affairs, Landscape and Biodiversity announced at the 5th National Seminar on Common Land and Town and Village Greens on 13th of September 2005, funding, to cover three years, for an Association for Commons Registration Officers. [Further information]

CumbriaRegistration of severed rights

The Commons Act 2006 retrospectively prohibits the severance and non pro rata apportionment of rights of common with effect from 28 June 2005. Guidance has been given to registration authorities on the registration of applications in relation to severed rights – see emails sent to registration officers above.

Further information about severance is also available:

Registration of new town and village greens

Registration authorities are responsibile for determining applications to register new town and village greens. More information is available on the town and village green page .

Registration authorities' functions

The Commons Registration Act 1965 designates county councils (and unitary authorities exercising the functions of county councils), metropolitan borough councils and London borough councils as commons registration authorities. For further information see:

 

Page last modified: 07 August 2008
Page published: 5 February 2003

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs