The law relating to common land in England having regard to the commons registration act 1965

Abstract

This thesis is intended to examine the Commons Registration 1965 Act in its historical context. The first part consists of a brief account of the history of common land making reference to the emergence of identifiable common rights, the inclosure movement and the progress towards protection for common land which was made in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The second part includes an examination of the problems which seriously affected common land during the twentieth century and which led to the appointment of a Royal Commission in 1955. The problems are examined from the points of view of various parties who might have an interest in common land, that is, the owner, the commoner, a rambler and a conservationist. Finally, a factual account is given of the problems which emerged when proposals were made to build Cow Green reservoir in Teesdale; the site in question consisted in part of common land. The third part contains an examination of the recommendations made by the Royal Commission in their Report regarding a system of registration for common land and town or village greens and new proposals regarding its maintenance and management. The provisions of the Commons Registration Act 1965 and related statutory instruments are considered in part four, the section being divided into three parts containing details of its aims, the provisions themselves and its effects. Of particular interest is the section regarding the effects because some of these cannot have been intended and merit detailed consideration. A modest body of case law has emerged as a result of the effect of the provisions in the Commons Registration Act 1965 and the cases are examined and discussed in this section. Particular emphasis is placed upon the decisions in Central Electricity Generating Board v Clwyd County Council [1976] TAER 251 and Box Parish Council v Lacey [1979] TAER 113.The final part examines the events which have taken place since 1965 and considers the recommendations contained in an Inter Departmental Working Party Report supplied by the Department of the Environment. There is also a discussion regarding a consultation document circulated with the Working Party Report and the replies to that document from a small number of interested bodies. Finally, there are eight appendices which contain additional material supplementary to the text.