“Very well organised and enjoyable meeting”
(attendee at BALC training session on common land)
Common Land
Common land is unique and steeped in history. Although rights still exist today, they are not exercised as they once were. There are 1.3 million acres of common land in England and Wales, registered in over 9,000 separate units covering all types of landscape and habitat. A staggering 88% of all commons in England have a national or international designation – for wildlife, landscape or archaeology.
Our training course will provide:
- an introduction to commons and why they are important
- relevant legislation
- works on common land and exemptions
- process for exchange of common land
- how to take action against unlawful works
- good practice for developing ideas for the management of commons based on the Open Spaces Society’s ground-breaking publication, Finding Common Ground.
- practical solutions to problems such as car parking, encroachment and vegetation.
- exchange of ideas on good practice
“Now I’d like to attend the course on village greens”
(attendee at BALC training session on common land)
Village Greens
There are some 3,650 village greens in England that come in all shapes and sizes. The expression ‘town or village green’ has long been used to describe land, rural or urban, over which the inhabitants of a particular locality hold customary recreational rights. The terms ‘town green’ and ‘village green’ are legally identical, only distinguishing where the green is situated.
Local councils have an important role in protecting and managing greens and have an opportunity to register new ones.
Village greens are a topical subject with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) consulting on the law and procedure for registering land as a green, and the draft National Planning Policy Framework’s reference to green spaces.
Our training course will provide:
- an introduction to village greens and why they are important
- relevant legislation
- the role of local councils in relation to village greens
1. what can and cannot be done to protect and manage them
2. voluntary registration
- How to register land as a new green using the evidence process
1. the steps to be followed
2. potential pitfalls to watch out for
- Defra’s consultation on the law and procedures for registering land as new greens and what it might mean for local councils
- the draft National Planning Policy Framework’s reference to green spaces
- Exchange of ideas on good practice
Our trainers
“Very interesting and well-presented topic. Enthusiastic attendees and excellent rapport with the trainers, Kate and Nicola”
(feedback from British Horse Society training on common land)
Kate Ashbrook BSc 
Kate has been general secretary (chief executive) of the Open Spaces Society since 1984. She was a member of the Common Land Forum (1983-6), and the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions advisory group on the good practice guide to managing commons (1997-8). She was on the working party to produce A Common Purpose (2005) and was involved in the production of Common Vision, a video about lowland commons (2008).
Kate was a member of the board of the Countryside Agency for its whole existence (1999-2006), and has twice been chairman of the Ramblers (1995-8 and 2003-6) and chairman of the Campaign for National Parks (2003-9). She remains a trustee of both organisations. She is patron of the Walkers Are Welcome Towns Network, a trustee of the Dartmoor Preservation Association and a member of the Institute of Public Rights of Way and Access Management (IPROW).
Kate has run training sessions on common land, village greens, open spaces, public paths and on the art of campaigning, for associations of local councils, the Ramblers and other voluntary groups for the past 25 years or so. She took part in debates on common and greens at the biennial conference of the International Association for the Study of Commons, in Cheltenham (2008) and Hyderabad (2011), and at the Cheltenham annual seminar on commons and greens (2010).
Nicola Hodgson BA
Nicola is a solicitor and has been case officer for the Open Spaces Society since 1999, assisting its members on common land, greens and open spaces.
She was a member of the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions “Urban Green Spaces Taskforce Working Group” in 2001 which produced the report Green Spaces, Better Places, a guide to good practice for improving urban green spaces. She was involved in the production of the National Trust’s guidance on common land management and protection (2004).
Nicola was the society’s leader in pursuing amendments to the Commons Bill (now the Commons Act 2006) and is a member of the National Common Land Stakeholder Group.
Nicola has been running training sessions for 10 years on common land, village greens and open spaces, for associations of local councils, the British Horse Society and the Chilterns Conservation Board, and has regularly spoken at the annual National Cheltenham conference on common land and greens.
Nicola and Kate co-wrote Finding Common Ground (2010), a guide to how to recognise and take account of local community interests in common land.
Fees
Our fees are negotiable depending on your requirements so please call us to discuss. We offer a discounted fee to members of the society.