‘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.’

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Local Government Law, 16th May 2018

Source: local-government-law.11kbw.com