Council takes 10 years not to make a decision on village green status – The Guardian
‘Ombudsman orders Cornwall to pay compensation over locals’ plan for land near Saltash.’
The Guardian, 25th April 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
Category: commons
Supreme Court to hear key case on village greens and public authority land – Local Government Lawyer
‘The Supreme Court has agreed to hear conjoined cases over village greens, public authority-owned land and the concept of ‘statutory incompatibility’, it has been reported.’
Local Government Lawyer, 5th November 2018
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Court of Appeal upholds decision to register part of port as village green – Local Government Lawyer
‘The Court of Appeal has upheld Essex County Council’s decision to register land that is part of the Port of Mistley as a town or village green (TVG).’
Local Government Lawyer, 9th October 2018
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Borough defeats High Court challenge to refusal to register land as village green – Local Government Lawyer
‘Wokingham Borough Council has successfully defended a High Court challenge to its decision to refuse to register land as a new town or village green.’
Local Government Lawyer, 5th October 2018
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Council wins possession of wildlife garden but eviction must wait for JR hearing – Local Government Lawyer
‘A judge has confirmed Lewisham Council’s right to possession of a wildlife garden in Deptford as part of a housing project, but said it cannot take place until seven days after a High Court judge holds an oral hearing into whether to grant permission for a judicial review challenge.’
Local Government Lawyer, 1st October 2018
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
MoD accused of ‘land grab’ for attempting to turn common land into Army firing range – Daily Telegraph
‘MoD accused of ‘land grab’ for attempting to turn common land into Army firing range.’
Daily Telegraph, 13th September 2018
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
High Court quashes village green registration over ‘trigger event’ – Local Government Lawyer
‘The High Court has given what is reported to be the first ruling on a ‘trigger event’ for the purposes of town and village green registration.’
Local Government Lawyer, 9th July 2018
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Council “did not have vires to lease part of common to pre-school nursery” – Local Government Lawyer
‘The London Borough of Wandsworth did not have the vires to lease premises situated on a common to a private pre-school operator, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’
Local Government Lawyer, 23rd May 2018
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Village Green – Local Government Law
‘In Cotham School v Bristol City Council (2018) EWHC 1022 (Admin) the Council is the owner of the freehold interest in Stoke Lodge Playing Fields. It is also the Commons Registration Authority empowered to register land as a town or village green pursuant to Section 15 Commons Act 2006. In 2011 application was made to register the land as a town or village green. The applicant was acting on behalf of an unincorporated association known as “Save Stoke Lodge Parkland”. Objections to the application were received. In the face of conflicting views about whether the land should be registered the registration authority decided that it would appoint an Inspector to make a recommendation about whether the land should be registered. In May 2013 the Inspector issued a Report in which he recommended that the land should be registered as a green. However, that recommendation was not implemented. In the years immediately following the publication of the Report there were a number of cases proceeding through the Courts which were relevant to the issues raised in this case. Ultimately a decision was taken that before a decision was made as to whether the land should be registered the Inspector should conduct a non-statutory Public Inquiry at which oral evidence would be given. In June and July 2016 the Inspector conducted such an Inquiry. In October 2016 the Inspector produced a comprehensive written Report. In it, he recommended that the land should not be registered as a green. He expressed the view that one aspect of the statutory test for registration had not been satisfied. The Inspector’s Report was considered at the Public Rights of Way and Greens Committee of the Council in December 2016. In the event the Committee resolved (on the Chair’s casting vote) to reject the Inspector’s recommendation and to grant the application for registration.’
Local Government Law, 16th May 2018
Source: local-government-law.11kbw.com
Decision to register playing fields as village green unlawful: judge – Local Government Lawyer
‘A High Court judge has upheld a legal challenge by a school in Bristol and indicated that he will quash a council committee’s decision to register land as a village green.’
Local Government Lawyer, 4th May 2018
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Police cannot charge for football match-day policing on public land – UK Police Law Blog
‘Can the police charge a football club for match day policing on public land immediately outside a stadium, where that land is largely under the control of the club? No, the Court of Appeal re-affirmed in Ipswich Town Football Club v Chief Constable of Suffolk [2017] EWCA Civ 1484.’
UK Police Law Blog, 13th November 2017
Source: ukpolicelawblog.com
Green Space Borough-Wide Preventative Injunctions: The Next Stage – Hardwicke Chambers
‘In his previous article of 26th July 2017 Steven discussed the potential benefits of obtaining borough-wide Injunctions preventing anyone entering green spaces with vehicles, (most commonly mobile homes and caravans) and then fly-tipping industrial scale waste. This article deals with the fact that it is becoming increasingly clear that, where one local authority obtains protection in the form of a borough-wide injunction to prevent incursions onto its green spaces, a neighbouring borough becomes vulnerable to an increase in incursions.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 19th October 2017
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
Old problem, new solution: local councils look to preserve their green spaces from incursion and illegal fly tipping – Hardwicke Chambers
‘There are few local authorities in the country that haven’t experienced the enormous difficulties inherent in people setting up camp illegally in local parks and green spaces with their mobile homes and caravans, horses and dogs then leaving the area (voluntarily or otherwise) and landing the authority with an expensive bill for cleaning up.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 26th July 2017
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
Field Reports: R (St John College Cambridge) v Cambridgeshire County Council [2017] EWHC 1753 (Admin) – Tanfield Chambers
‘The case concerns claims under s15 Commons Act (2006) for town and village greens and the scope for applicants to amend a defective application under Regulation 5(4) of the Commons (Registration of Town or Village Greens) (Interim Arrangements) (England) Regulations 2007 (‘the 2007 Regulations’), so that it is duly made. This can be crucial (as in this case) in determining whether an application has been made within the period of grace allowable under the Commons Act, or is effectively time barred.’
Tanfield Chambers, 21st July 2017
Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk
Tribunal judge overturns listing of allotment site as an asset of community value – OUT-LAW.com
‘A tribunal has overturned the listing of an allotment site in Lancashire as an asset of community value (ACV), on the grounds that nearby housing development makes it “highly unrealistic” that the site will ever be used as allotments again.’
OUT-LAW.com, 11th April 2017
Source: www.out-law.com
Ealing defeats latest challenge to siting of QPR training on metropolitan open land – Local Government Lawyers
‘The London Borough of Ealing has successfully defended its decision-making in the latest round of litigation over the proposed siting of training facilities for football club Queen’s Park Rangers on metropolitan open land (MOL).’
Local Government Lawyer, 10th March 2017
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Public right of way did not detract from use of land as village green, High Court rules – OUT-LAW.com
‘The High Court has upheld the registration of Humpty Hill in Oxfordshire as a town or village green (TVG), despite arguments that most of the walking that took place on the land was because it was a public right of way.’
OUT-LAW.com, 7th November 2016
Source: www.out-law.com
Council defeats High Court challenge to registration of 14 acres as village green – Local Government Lawyer
‘A county council has successfully defended in the High Court its decision to register 14 acres as a town and village green (TVG).’
Local Government Lawyer, 31st October 2016
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Ancient grazing rights threatened as controversial baaaaaaad behaviour orders used to criminalise sheep – Daily Telegraph
‘it is one of the most ancient surviving commoners’ rights in England, thought to date at least to the Norman conquest if not before. But the custom of allowing sheep to roam freely in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire is set to be criminalised in one village, in the latest manifestation of controversial new antisocial behaviour laws nicknamed the “busybodies’ charter”.’
Daily Telegraph, 4th August 2016
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Town and Village Greens – Local Government Law
‘The importance of giving reasons for a decision to register land as a village or town green under Section 15 of the Commons Act 2006 has been emphasized by Gilbart J in R (NHS Property Services Ltd) v Surrey County Council (2016) EWHC 1715 (Admin), in which NHS Property Services Ltd (“NHS”) sought judicial review of a decision by the County Council to register a parcel of woodland (“the land”) as a village green. The case is also of importance in relation to the question whether there is a statutory incompatibility with registration.’
Local Government Law, 20th July 2016
