Overview

Denton Wilde Sapte take a look at the implications of the R (Lewis) v Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council judgment in this briefing on village green applications.

Currently, town and village greens can be registered if a significant number of local people have used them for lawful sports and pastimes "as of right" continuously for at least 20 years. The current system was introduced by the Commons Registration Act 1965. This gave effect to the Royal Commission on Common Land report, part of which identified the need for better protection of established greens and clarity about their ownership.

The Commons Act 2006 made it easier to make applications and harder to resist them, but did not resolve uncertainties about the criteria for registration.

House of Lords interventions have brought welcome clarity, but the legal test for use as of right has remained difficult to apply.

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