Village greens

Town and village greens

Town and village greens are the essence of rural England and Wales. Story-book images of village greens tend to be of an expanse of grass in the centre of a village complete with oak tree and seat, or a carefully-manicured recreation ground just outside the village, where cricket is played in the lengthening shadows of a summer evening, and the villagers dance round the maypole. In fact they are much more than that, and very varied.

A green is any land on which a significant number of inhabitants of any area has indulged in lawful sports and pastimes, for 20 years, as of right.

We believe there to be about 3650 registered greens in England and about 220 in Wales, covering about 8150 and 620 acres respectively.

Registration

To register land as a green:

  • First check with your registration authority whether it is already registered. If it is not, ask the authority for Form 44 and the regulations contained in the Commons (Registration of Town or Village Greens) (Interim Arrangements) (England) or (Wales) Regulations 2007. If you live in Blackburn with Darwen, Cornwall, Devon, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Kent or Lancashire, these are pilot areas and the regulations are contained in the Commons Registration (England) Regulations 2008. You will need a Form C9, which can be obtained from your registration authority by following the links on our Commons Act 2006 page.
  • If the authority does not have form 44, contact the Open Spaces Society or go to Defra’s website or the Welsh Assembly Government’s website.

Preparing the application

When preparing your application, follow the steps below:

  • You will need to show on a map the area you wish to register and the locality or neighbourhood in which those using the green ‘as of right’ live.
  • You will need to show that a significant number of those people who use the land are local people.
  • You will need to show that those using the green have done so without permission, without being stopped or seeing notices which stop them, and without being secretive about it, and that between them they have done this for a continuous period of 20 years.
  • For information about section 15 of the Commons Act 2006, click here. (This sets out the criteria for registration of land).

An example evidence questionnaire can be obtained from us when purchasing our book, Getting Greens Registered (buy it now – click here).

Submitting your application

  • You should submit your application to the registration authority for determination.
  • The registration authority will check it is in order and will then advertise it and receive any objections.
  • If there are any objections, the authority may hold an independent hearing (indeed you should encourage it to do so). If it does register the land as a green, this should protect it from development and local people will have the right to continue to enjoy the land for informal recreation.

FAQs

  • How can I protect the land?

    • If you can prove that local people have used the land without secrecy, force or permission for at least 20 years for lawful sports and pastimes, you can apply to register the land as new green. This will protect it from development for ever and preserve it for use by local people.

  • Who is my registration authority?

    • In England, all unitary authorities and county councils are registration authorities. In Wales, all county/borough councils are registration authorities.

  • How long does the process take?

    • Unfortunately, there is no limit to how long the process can take.

  • How much evidence do I need to give?

    • As much as possible, but quality is more important than quantity.

Court Cases

Click here for a pdf of useful court cases concerning registration of land as new greens.

Protecting Village Greens

Under section 29 of the Commons Act 1876, together with section 12 of the Inclosure Act 1857, a person who:

  1. encroaches on, or encloses a town or village green or a recreation ground allotted by an inclosure award, or
  2. erects anything on, disturbs or interferes with that green or ground otherwise than for its better enjoyment for its proper purpose may, on the information of any inhabitant of the parish in which the green is situated, be summarily convicted by the magistrates’ court and fined at level 1 on the standard scale.

If you are currently thinking about or trying to register a new green, and you need help and/or advice, or if you think somebody may be disregarding laws protecting village greens, why not join the Open Spaces Society, and benefit from our expert advice?

In 2009, we helped our members to register the following greens;

  • Cadwell, Cudworth, Barnsley, South Yorkshire
  • Mengham Park, Hayling Island, Hampshire
  • Ramsey Close, Horsham, West Sussex
  • Downley Jubilee Green, Buckinghamshire
  • Greensward, Worthing, West Sussex
  • Eastleigh Park, Basildon, Essex
  • Valby View, Sketty, Swansea
  • Talacre Gardens, London Borough of Camden
  • Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taff
  • Windmill Drive, Leatherhead, Surrey
  • Gillotts Field, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire (Voluntary registration)
  • Newpool Meadows, Knypersley, Staffordshire
  • Burley House Field, Burley-in-Wharfedale, Bradford, West Yorkshire
  • The Old Colliery Site, Newmillerdam, Wakefield, West Yorkshire
  • The Witney Meadows Country Park, Witney, Oxfordshire
  • Crowtrees Lane, Rastrick, Calderdale, West Yorkshire
  • Burton’s Wood, Little Chalfont, Buckinghamshire