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 The guidance, which is available to download from: registration-authorities-in-england-sections-15a-to-15c-of-the- commons-act-2006 took effect from 1 October registration-authorities-in-england-sections-15a-to-15c-of-the- commons-act-2006

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 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.Getting Greens Registered