….and why are they so important?

This is a question that residents are asking us more and more frequently.

Town Greens are significant because designation effectively ends any development potential of the land in question.

In essence, anyone can apply to the Registration Authority (in this case the County Council) for permission to have an area of land designated as a Town Green.  In order be successful they will need to show that a significant number of local people have indulged in lawful sports or pastimes “as of right” (i.e. without permission, force or secrecy) on the land for at least 20 years, rather than “by right” (i.e. in exercise of a legal right to do so).  These requirements reflect the ancient law of custom, whereby long use “as of right” created a presumption that local inhabitants had established recreational rights over the land. The applicant(s) need to submit all of the evidence required to prove this, which may include witness statements, witness forms of evidence and photographs.  But of course the difficulty lies in the interpretation of what constitutes a significant number of people, what they were doing on the land and when, etc.  Town Greens have therefore become a complex area of law and a contentious issue in planning, because they are increasingly being used to thwart proposed development rather than for their original purpose – which was to protect genuine Town and Village greens!

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