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

Further resources about Commons

Our latest posts about commons

We win back common land in Hertfordshire

We are delighted that land in Hertfordshire has been registered as common, giving it protection, and the public rights of access there.  The land failed to be registered as common land when the registers were first opened under the Commons Registration Act 1965 (the 1965 Act) for a three-year period.  Hertfordshire County Council has granted two of the society’s applications for land just…
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150th anniversary of landmark act

Yesterday, 11 August 2026, was the 150th anniversary of the Commons Act 1876, the Act which spelt the death knell for the parliamentary inclosure of common land in England and Wales.    Our society, then the Commons Preservation Society, played a part in its enactment.  Our president, Lord Eversley, with vice-presidents James Bryce MP, Charles Dilke MP, Henry Fawcett MP, and other supporters, won amendments to strengthen the Bill against inclosures, and in the interest of agricultural…
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It’s time to complete unfinished business on commons and greens

Our call to government on the twentieth anniversary of landmark legislation  We are marking the twentieth anniversary of the Commons Act 2006 by urging the government to complete the job this landmark legislation began for protecting these vital green areas.  The Commons Act 2006 won royal assent on 19 July 2006.  The society hailed the Act as…
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What will government’s plans for nature provide for public access?

We have questioned what the government’s plan to protect 30 per cent of England for nature will do for public access.    The society welcomes the government’s commitment to provide funding, particularly for protected landscapes, to restore nature, and notes that it also promises to ‘improve access to green space’.  The government statement says that ‘the country’s new national forests are a key part of that’.  Says…
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