Our Common Land

An Open Spaces Society publication

The seventh edition of Our Common Land by Paul Clayden has been revised and updated to include the many changes in the law which have taken place since the previous edition in 2006.

These include the bringing into force of part 1 of the Commons Act 2006, and the divergence of the law in England and Wales. This book takes account of the most recent court cases, and policy guidance on common land issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Welsh government.

There is also a substantial section dealing with town and village greens, which complements the society’s manual, Getting Greens Registered.

The book puts the law into practice. It is of value to local authorities, landowners, common right-holders, and the public.

Contents

  1. An introduction to common land and rights of common
  2. Commons registration
  3. Common land—the rights of the parties
  4. Management and control of common land
  5. Statutory protection of common land
  6. Town and village greens

Appendix 1: Commons regulated under the Commons Act 1987

Appendix 2: Bibliography

Total 164 pages

Click here to buy your copy today

Further resources about Commons

  • Part 1 of the Commons Act 2006: getting land onto or off the commons and greens registers

    This fact sheet covers the following information about Part 1 of the Commons Act 2006: getting land onto or off the commons and greens registers. 

  • Protecting commons, greens and open spaces training course

    Learn the fundamentals on this comprehensive course to include definitions, registration/designation, protection and management.

  • How to take action against unlawful encroachments and works

    This fact sheet tells you how to protect your common from unlawful encroachments and works in England.

  • Vehicular access across Common Land and Town or Village Greens

    This provides guidance about vehicular access across common land and town or village greens following the repeal of section 68 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.

  • A charter for Wales's open spaces

    Read our August 2020 charter for the promotion and protection of open spaces so that everyone in Wales can benefit.

  • A Common Purpose Guide

    Download the Foundation for Common Land guidance on how to engage with local communities for those contemplating management on common land.

  • An approach to the re-registration of commons

    Our commons re-registration officer Dr Frances Kerner shares our approach to research and application preparation

  • Registered common land and highways

    Registered common land may also be part of a public highway, and evidence that land is registered common land or part of a highway is of little or no value in demonstrating that the land is not the other.

  • The origins of sections 193 and 194 of the Law of Property Act 1925

    A comprehensive paper from Open Spaces Society Trustee Bernard Selwyn

  • A charter for England's open spaces

    Read our August 2020 charter for the promotion and protection of open spaces so that everyone in England can benefit.

  • A commons’ conference companion

    The Countryside and Community Research Institute of Gloucester University (CCRI) has published a Commons e-book

  • DIY guide to registering lost commons

    The Commons Act 2006 provides a new, time-limited, opportunity for you to rescue some of those commons which failed to be registered under the Commons

  • Buildings, fences and other works on common land in England and Wales

    A practical guide for those wishing to carry out a lawful operation on a common and those wanting to defend a common against unlawful or undesirable operations.

  • Frequently Asked Questions: Commons

    Frequently asked questions about commons

  • Preventing vehicular access to common land or town and village greens (dragon's teeth)

    How to prevent vehicular access to common land, town or village greens using dragon's teeth.

  • Unclaimed land and adverse possession

    Unclaimed land and adverse possession: protecting commons and other open spaces with no known owner

  • Finding common ground

    Integrating local and national interests on commons: guidance for assessing the community value of common land

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Our latest posts about commons

Public access to new Woodbury Common land agreed

We are delighted to have reached agreement with Clinton Devon Estates whereby the public wins an almost immediate right to walk over newly-registered common land at Woodbury, east Devon, instead of having to wait, perhaps years, for the right to be confirmed(1). Clinton Devon Estates sought consent under section 16 of the Commons Act 2006…
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Dartmoor backpack-camping case is to go to Supreme Court 

We are deeply dismayed that the Supreme Court has granted the Dartmoor landowners, Alexander and Diana Darwall, leave to appeal in the Dartmoor backpack-camping case.  The society intervened in support of the Dartmoor National Park Authority in the Court of Appeal, and it was delighted when that court ruled that the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985 gave…
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Our plan to secure urban green spaces for the public 

We made a host of recommendations to secure urban green spaces for public enjoyment.    These recommendations have been published by the House of Commons’ Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs Committee, which last year conducted an inquiry into the ecological, environmental, and human benefits of green space, and the most effective solutions to making cities greener…
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Planning for commons in the north

Open Spaces Society case officer Hugh Craddock and Friends of the Lake District planning officer Lorayne Wall MRTPI, on 7 June addressed members of the Royal Town Planning Institute on planning for commons. At the Institute’s rural update for north of England, members heard about ‘Planning and Common Land’, raising awareness of how and why…
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