ARCHIVE: Guidance
On this page:
- A Common Purpose: A guide to agreeing management on common land
- Good Practice Guide on managing the use of common land
- Policy guidance on statutory consents in relation to common land
- Voluntary dedication of land as a town or village green
- Adverse possession on common land and town or village greens.
- Severance of rights of common
- Guidance on applications
- Guidance on vehicular access across common land
- Guidance on powers relating to unauthorised agricultural activities
- The Commons Registration Act 1965: How the commons registers were prepared
- Management and protection of registered town and village greens
A Common Purpose: A guide to agreeing management on common land, 
(published by the former English Nature, provides advice for those interested in managing common land, particularly where an application for consent to works on common land is contemplated.
The Good Practice Guide on managing the use of common land [PDF] (3 MB) published by DETR in June 1998, remains available as a guide to the management of common land.
Policy guidance on statutory consents in relation to common land. Defra has published guidance which sets out Defra’s policy in relation to consents granted by the Secretary of State for common land and town or village green, including consent to works under section 38 of the Commons Act 2006, and exchanges of common land under section 16 of the Act.
A guidance note on the voluntary dedication of land as a town or village green [PDF] (84 KB) provides advice to landowners in England on dedicating land under section 15(8) of the Commons Act 2006 as a town or village green and on alternative mechanisms to provide public access to land.
Adverse possession on common land and town or village greens. (PDF 83 KB) Defra has published this revised (March 2010) guidance note on the extent to which adverse possession can be claimed over land registered as common land or town or village green, and the consequences of a successful claim. The guidance note should be read with guidance published by HM Land Registry on registering title to land through adverse possession.
Severance of rights of common. Section 9 of the Commons Act 2006 prohibits the severance of rights of common. Defra has published a guidance note to explain the purpose and intended operation of the prohibition of severance, and the exceptions to the prohibition.
Guidance on applications. For guidance on making applications under the Commons Act 2006 to register a new town or village green, and applications under Part 1 of the Act in the pilot implementation areas, please see our information on Town and Village Greens and Pilot implementation of Part 1 of the Commons Act 2006
Updating the commons registers.
A guidance note is also available on arrangements for searches of the commons registers.
Guidance on vehicular access across common land. Defra has published this guidance note on vehicular access across common land and town or village greens, following the judgement of the House of Lords in the Bakewell Management case, and the repeal of section 68 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.
Guidance on powers relating to unauthorised agricultural activities (PDF 66KB). This guidance has been published by Defra to advise Natural England on the appropriate use of its powers under Section 46 of the Commons Act 2006 to stop unauthorised agricultural activities on registered common land.
The Commons Registration Act 1965: How the commons registers were prepared Defra has published guidance which details the process by which common land and town and village greens were registered when the commons registers were first produced in the late 1960s.
Management and protection of registered town and village greens. Defra has published a guidance note which answers some of the most frequently asked questions regarding the protection and management of town and village greens
Page last modified: 22 March 2010
Page published: 12 November 2008