Common Land and Town and Village Greens
Town or Village Greens
Under Section 15 of the Commons Act 2006 land that meets the criteria can be registered as a town or village green. To do this you will have to prove that the land has been used as of right for a period of twenty years or more by a significant number of people in the locality for lawful sports and pastimes.
As of right means that you have not had to ask the permission of the owner to use the land and the land has not been enclosed during this time.
Lawful sports and pastimes covers such things as blackberry picking, ball games, cycling, walking, picnics, etc.
A locality can be an electoral ward/parish boundary and a significant number of people would be those that live in the locality, but you can also have some that come to the area especially to use the area of land you wish to register as a town or village green. There should be a spread of questionnaires throughout the locality. Questionnaires should not just be completed by those who live very close to the application site.
To assist you with collating evidence for your application this questionnaire 
(10KB - pdf help) can be copied as required by those who live in the locality and submitted with your application.
An owner can register land in their ownership as a town or village green under Section 15 (8) of the Commons Act 2006. To do this they would have to complete the application form and provide proof of ownership such as the Land Registry Title Documents. The owner does not have to prove twenty years use as of right.
Further information can be seen on the town or village green pages of the DEFRA website.
Information can also be sought from the The Open Spaces Society who are a registered charity who can assist and provide advice on applications to register land as a Town or Village green. They have a book called "Getting Greens Registered” which can be purchased from them.
If you have any questions regarding town or village greens please contact the Land Charges Department on 01392 382937 or by email at commons@devon.gov.uk
When an application to register land as a town or village green has been completed this should be sent to the County Council as Commons Registration Authority to the address below: -
Land Charges
Devon County Council
County Hall
Topsham Road
EXETER
EX2 4QD
