Dartmoor land restored as common
We are delighted that another, extensive, piece of the Dartmoor National Park in Devon has been registered as common land. Planning Inspector Mark Yates has granted the society’s application to register as common about 12 square kilometres known as Walkhampton Common. The land, which is immediately south-west of Princetown, is grazed and uncultivated. In 1968,…
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Public right to walk on Clinton Devon Estate’s new commons
Today, 16 April 2025, the public gains the right to walk on newly-registered common land on the Clinton Devon Estates at Woodbury, east Devon. This is thanks to an agreement between the estate and the society. In November 2023 Clinton Devon Estates sought consent under section 16 of the Commons Act 2006 to deregister 1.7…
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Commons deserve the highest protection
We have called for modernising legislation enabling the compulsory purchase of common land, while retaining the existing, vital, safeguard of Parliamentary scrutiny in exceptional cases. Responding to the Law Commission’s consultation on compulsory purchase[1], the society endorses the protection for common land and open space subject to a compulsory purchase order. Existing legislation, in the…
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Inspector refuses Adwalton-Common development bid
We welcome the government’s refusal to deregister part of Adwalton Common at Drighlington, five miles south-west of Leeds. An application was made to the Planning Inspectorate in April 2024 to remove 178 square metres of land from the register of common land. This is adjacent to West Street. The application was made with the apparent…
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Commons swap at Brow Moor refused
We have welcomed the decision of an inspector to refuse an exchange of common land in Brontë country at Brow Moor, Haworth, Bradford. Dennis Gillson and Son Ltd (Gillsons) applied to deregister 1.25 hectares of common land on Brow Moor, and replace it with 2.7 hectares about 2 kilometres further south. The application was made…
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Our five-point plan for 2025
In our recent new-year message we were pleased to set out our top five campaign aims for 2025. We’re calling for: Lost commons to be registerable throughout England. Currently they can only be registered in Cumbria and North Yorkshire, yet landowners can apply to deregister commons throughout England, which is grossly unfair. A mandate on…
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Fencing refused on Norfolk common
We have welcomed the decision to refuse consent for fencing on Shereford Common in Norfolk. This is a small, five-hectare common south of St Nicholas’ church, Shereford (near Fakenham), and largely sandwiched between a country lane and the River Wensum. In August 2023, the Raynham estate, owned by Charles Townshend, sought the consent of the Defra…
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Parish council sets the record straight for North Yorkshire village green
Azerley Parish Council has persuaded North Yorkshire County Council correctly to record Bogs and Hodgson Top, at Winksley, five miles west of Ripon, as a village green rather than a common. The land lies to the north of the road from Winksley village to Winksley Bridge, between the River Laver and the road. In 1969,…
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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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Last chance for Dartmoor backpack-camping rights
The final hearing on the Dartmoor backpack camping case is tomorrow (8 October) in the supreme court. The case, between landowners Alexander and Diana Darwall and the Dartmoor National Park Authority, has previously been heard in the high court and the court of appeal. Now it goes to the supreme court for final determination. The…
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