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Village green - ‘as of right’?

The Supreme Court has handed down an important judgment about village greens, after unanimously finding that locals had been using a local area ‘as of right’, even though they had always deferred to its use by golfers (and left when asked to do so by golfers).

A village green can be registered if ‘a significant number of the inhabitants of any locality... have indulged as a right in lawful sports and pasttimes on the land for a period of at least 20 years’.

Village green - 'as of right'
The indications are that the courts are becoming less draconian in their enforcement of the registration of village greens. Perhaps they feel that the reforms introduced by the Commons Act 2006 now allow them to take a more even-handed approach.
Village Greens - Summary
Section 15 Commons Act 2006 allows land to be registered as a ‘town or village green’ where:

‘A significant number of the inhabitants of any locality, or of any neighbourhood within a locality, have indulged as of right in lawful sports and pastimes on the land for a period of at least 20 years.’
Village greens - the new law
The new law on village greens came into force on 6 April. A village green can now be registered if:
Village Greens: Further obstacles for developments
authorSection 15 of the Commons Act 2006 came into force in early April. David Shakesby examines the background to the new provision and its implications for developers.
Rights of way: Impediment to development
authorLandowners cannot afford to ignore evidence of the possibility of prescriptive rights being claimed, nor hide behind lease covenants and fail to take action. Laura Small investigates.
Commons – Form CR1 to go
Form CR1 (Commons Registration Search) is being abolished as from 1 June. After that date, you simply make your commons registration search as a Supplementary Enquiry on CON 29 Part II (ie there is no longer any need for a separate Commons form).
Village green - Commons Act 2006
The Commons Act will bring yet more changes to the law on village greens, as from April 2007.
Village Greens - what next?
The HL decision in the Oxford case provides some clarification as to when a village green can be registered under s22(1) Commons Registration Act 1965. The starting point, of course, is that any ‘town or village green’ is registerable if it can be shown that the ‘inhabitants of any locality indulged in lawful sports and pastimes as of right for not less than 20 years’.
Village greens – new Bill?
Following on from the HL’s ‘village green’ decision, it is worth noting that there is a Bill before parliament which seeks to repeal and replace the relevant provisions of Commons Registration Act 1965. As a note from DentonWildeSapte says, this bill is decidedly developer-unfriendly.
Village green - new decision
Land that is a ‘town or village green’ is registerable under s22(1) Commons Registration Act 1965 provided it can be shown that the ‘inhabitants of any locality indulged in lawful sports and pastimes as of right for not less than 20 years’.
Greens – new HL ruling
The HL has given further (even more confused!) guidance on the registration of town and village greens under Commons Registration Act 1965. Indeed the HL could not even agree on the scope of what qualifies as a ‘village green’
Village greens - update 2005

Local residents’ groups have turned increasingly to the law relating to village greens as a way of challenging developers.

Successful registration of a site as a village green kills off development – all development – forever.

Village green - registration
The litigation over the registration of towns and village greens continues. The latest twist to the saga is that the CA has overruled the previous High Court guidance on this, and so created fresh confusion.
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