What is Common Land?

The name, 'common land' creates misunderstandings about its nature and function. Most people believe that no-one, everyone, or even the Queen, owns common land, and that everyone has right of access to it.

However, most common land is privately owned, and as such, current laws apply to common land in the same way as to any private land.

The terms 'commoners rights' and 'common' refer to the rights held in common by certain people to use the land or area for grazing, cutting turf etc.

These terms date back to the time when the manorial system appointed owners to land, but allowed the peasantry to continue using it, for example to collect wood or to fish.

These rights have historically belonged to specific individuals - the 'commoners' - not to the general public, and they are usually restricted to the occupiers of certain properties, or to those living within a specified area. A Commons Council is proposed by government which could adjudicate on any disputes.Until recently, the general public only has right of access to common land if it is an urban common or is crossed by a public footpath.

However, government proposals brought about in The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 have increased access to common land (called ‘access land’ under the Act). Copies of the access land are available on the Natural England website.

If you are planning to buy or extend over a piece of land, you may need to carry out a search of the Register of Common Land & Village Greens to ensure that the land is not registered or has any rights over the land.

The Common Land and Village Green Registers

As a Commons Registration Authority, we are responsible for maintaining the Registers of Common Land and Village Greens. These registers are statutory documents (Commons Registration Act, 1965 and Commons Act 2006) and show all such registered land in our area. Each area of common land and town or village green is listed in the registers under a unique 'unit number'. For example, Braintree Green is registered unit CL 31, and Blackmore Village Green is registered unit VG 12. The CL and VG prefixes identify the parcels as common land and village green respectively.

The register lists all units of Common Land / Village Greens in three parts:

• Part 1 The Land section - Describes the land and its boundaries, details the date it became common land or a village green, and who registered it.
• Part 2 The Rights section - Details who has common rights over the land and what those rights are, for example, sheep or cattle grazing, the right to remove gravel and stone.
• Part 3 The Ownership section - Details who owns the land (if registered).

If you are planning to buy or extend over a piece of land, you can:

• Inspect this register in person by making an appointment to visit our offices between 10am-4pm. We do not charge for this service, although a £10 charge is in place for a copy of the registers. As there are over 450 pieces of Common Land and 250 pieces of Village Green, it is advised that a search is carried out before visiting to ascertain the relevant unit number.
• In October 2007 the law was changed so that all Common Land and Village Green searches are to be carried out via the local District or Borough Council. Please contact the relevant authority for advice on forms and fees involved.

The result you receive as a product of the submitted search will show any entries in the different parts of the register.

If there are entries on your search, a unit number will be quoted on your search result. To obtain a copy of this register unit, write to:

Essex Legal & Registration Services
New Bridge House
60-68 New London Road
Chelmsford
Essex
CM2 0PD

For more detailed information on common land go to Common land explained