Commons victory at historic Berkhamsted

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We are delighted that Hertfordshire County Council has added a piece of Berkhamsted Common to the common-land register.  This will protect a further part of this historic common from development.

The land is 0.17 hectares to the north of Britwell Drive, near Berkhamsted Golf Club (about one kilometre north-west of Berkhamsted).

Berkhamsted Common

The land was subject to a deed of declaration, under section 193 of the Law of Property Act 1925, made by the Berkhamsted Golf Club Trustees on 19 December 1934.  This gave the public a right to walk and ride here.

The newly registered land was overlooked when Berkhamsted Common was first entered into the Hertfordshire commons register 30 to 40 years ago. However, land covered by a deed of declaration now meets the criteria for commons registration (under schedule 2, paragraph 2 of the Commons Act 2006).  This enabled the Open Spaces Society to submit an application to secure the land’s status for the future.

Says Richard Sanders for the society: ‘This is a success both for the Open Spaces Society and the people of Berkhamsted.  The common is a popular area of green open space and forms a distinctive part of the local landscape.  The common is at the heart of the Open Spaces Society’s history: the “Battle of Berkhamsted” in 1866 was one of our early victories, when we organised a trainload of men to tear down unlawful fences in the middle of the night.’

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