Village Greens

April 18th, 2018 by James Goudie KC

Did the concept of “statutory incompatibility” defeat an application for the registration of land as a town or village green under Section 15 of the Commons Act 2006? That question arose in each of two appeals, R (Lancashire County Council) v SoS for the Environment and R (NHS Property Services) and Surrey County Council v Jones, (2018) EWCA Civ 721. No, ruled the Court of Appeal, unless there was an inherent inconsistency between the statutory purpose for which the land was held and the use for public recreation.  The use of land for educational or healthcare purposes was not incompatible with its use as a village green.

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