Voluntary Registration

1
Session 3

• Voluntary Registration

2
Voluntary registration

• Section 15(8) Commons Act 2006
• New powers are available which allow an owner of
  land voluntarily to dedicate the land as a town
  or village green by applying to have it included
  in the register of town or village greens.

3
Voluntary registration

• Reasons for registration
• These might include the following
• The land you own is already used by local people,
  perhaps with permission, for recreation and you
  wish to formalise the position and protect the
  land for their use in the future.
• You wish to allocate land not currently used for
  recreation
• You are promoting or funding the provision or
  improvement of open space

4
Voluntary registration

• Reasons for registration
• You want to create a lasting public memorial and
  put something back into the community
• As part of a development, you are required to
  provide a recreational area as a planning
  condition

5
Voluntary registration

• Application process
• The process is simplified and does not require
  the usual evidence-based type of application
• Complete form 44 and submit it to the commons
  registration authority (county or unitary
  council). The authority is not required to
  examine the merits of the application, it need
  only be satisfied that you are legally entitled
  to apply to register the land.
• You will need to consult any lease or charge
  holder to inform them that you intend to apply
  for voluntary registration. They will need to
  provide written consent.

6
Voluntary registration

• Application process
• The application must include a map and
  description of the land and identification of the
  locality or neighbourhood within a locality where
  local people live who will have a right to use
  the green.
• You need to confirm in a statutory declaration
  that you are the owner of the land and have
  obtained any necessary consent. An application
  cannot be rejected but the authority can ask for
  further evidence of ownership.

7
Voluntary registration

• Once registered it will have the same protection
  as all other registered greens and local people
  will have a legal right to use the land for
  lawful sports and pastimes.

8
Session 3

• Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013

9
Growth and Infrastructure Act update

• 2 September 2013
• The government has published further guidance to
  reflect a number of significant changes to the
  law on registering new town and village greens
  under the Commons Act 2006, made in April 2013
  under the Growth and Infrastructure Act. It
  replaces the interim version published in May
  2013.  The  guidance, which is available to
  download from https//www.gov.uk/government/publi
  cations/guidance-to-commons-registration-authoriti
  es-in-england-sections-15a-to-15c-of-the-commons-a
  ct-2006 took effect from 1 October 2013.
•  

10
Growth and Infrastructure Act update

• The Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013 means
  that, in England, it is no longer possible to
  apply to register land as a village green if it
  has been earmarked for development, eg where a
  planning application has been made or where it is
  included in a development plan (full list of
  trigger events is in the accompanying information
  pack)
• However applications which were submitted before
  25 April 2013 will be processed. More information
  is available from http//www.oss.org.uk/the-growth
  -and-infrastructure-act-the-effect-on-greens/.

11
Growth and Infrastructure Act update

•  Before applying to register land as a green you
  must not only ensure that the land fulfils all
  the relevant criteria but you must also check
  that the land has not been allocated for
  development.
• An updated version of our book, Getting Greens
  Registered, is now available to download.