Town and village greens

What is a town or village green?

The existence of a town or village green (TVG) may restrict or even prevent development. It is a criminal offence to disturb or interfere with the use or enjoyment of a TVG. Consequently, an application to register a TVG is a useful weapon for anyone wishing to stop development of a green area. See Practice Note: What is a town or village green?

TVGs may or may not be subject to rights of common. They are areas of open space that have been used by the inhabitants of the town, village or parish, for the purposes of lawful sports and pastimes. There is no legal distinction between town greens and village greens; it just depends on where they are situated.

Legislative context

The Commons Act 2006 (CoA 2006) will ultimately repeal the Commons Registration Act 1965 (CRA 1965). CoA 2006 aims to consolidate, simplify and improve the previous legislation. It is being introduced in stages; most provisions are being brought into force by order made by the Secretary of State in relation to England,

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High Court gives guidance on the new duty to ‘seek to further the purpose of conserving and enhancing the natural beauty’ of AONB for planning authorities (CPRE Kent v SSHCLG)

Planning analysis: Section 85(A1) of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CRWA 2000) came into effect on 26 December 2023 following amendments to that Act made by section 245 of the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Act 2023 (LURA 2023). The provision requires relevant authorities to ‘seek to further the purpose of conserving and enhancing the natural beauty’ of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (‘AONB’) when exercising functions affecting such land. This case concerned a challenge to the November 2024 decision of the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (‘the Secretary of State’) to grant planning permission for the construction of 165 dwellings and associated works in the High Weald AONB. The grounds of challenge were that the Secretary of State had breached the CRWA 2000, s 85(A1) duty (Ground 1) or alternatively, had given inadequate reasons for concluding that the duty had been complied with (Ground 2). The main issue for the High Court was whether the words ‘seek to further’ contained in the amended section 85(A1) duty had altered the substance of the duty so as to require a decision-maker to refuse planning permission for development if it is found that the proposal would cause harm to an AONB by failing to conserve or enhance its natural beauty. In dismissing the claim and upholding the Secretary of State’s decision, the judge provided guidance on the requirements of the CRWA 2000, s 85(A1) duty in the context of planning decisions affecting AONBs. Written by Max Millington, barrister at Cornerstone Barristers.

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