Village Greens

Published: 23rd November 2007

It is becoming more and more common for people to use the registration of land as town or village greens as a way of blocking unwanted developments. Once registered as a town or village green the land enjoys statutory protection and cannot be developed. This is obviously a concern for developers who may have already spent a great deal of money applying for planning permissions and hiring contractors to prepare the site.

The Commons Act 2006 received Royal Assent on the 19th July 2006 and section 15 came into force on the 6th April 2007. This provision of the Act exacerbates the position from a developer's point of view. If the land has been used by local inhabitants "as of right" for lawful sports and pastimes for at least 20 years, and the other provisions of the Act have been satisfied, it is no longer possible to simply erect a fence around a site in order to prevent a town or village green application from succeeding. Section 15 also creates long periods during which the status of land may be uncertain by introducing a period of between two and five years after the end of the use in which to make an application for registration. Developers will need to be aware of this period, which eliminates the need for the use to be continuous up to the date of application for registration.

In the leading case of Oxfordshire County Council v. Oxford City Council and another [2006] UKHL 25 (the "Trapp Grounds" case) the House of Lords held that there is no requirement for the land to look like a traditional village green. The land can be covered in rubble and semi derelict buildings provided it can satisfy all of the criteria for registration. This is obviously a concern for developers who are increasingly looking at 'brownfield' sites in towns and cities for possible new developments.

The consequences of protection under the Act are significant as the owner of a green cannot do anything that interferes with the lawful recreational activities of the local population. Landowners and developers who own land which might potentially be the subject of an application for registration as a town or village green will wish to consider the provisions carefully.