Beverley Freemen Act 2010

2010 CHAPTER i

An Act to re-state and extend the categories of person entitled by birthright to be enrolled as a Freeman of Beverley; to extend the area within which entitlement to be a Pasture Freeman may arise; to modify legislation relating to such entitlement; and for related purposes.

[21st January 2010]

WHEREAS

(1)

The custom and practice of admitting persons to the freedom of Beverley was preserved by section 248 of the Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) in relation to the borough of Beverley:

(2)

By long practice entitlement to be admitted as a Freeman of Beverley is regulated by an Order of the Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the Town and Borough of Beverley made on 2 August 1813 and entitled “Regulations as to Freedoms”:

(3)

The functions of the Freemen of Beverley in relation to the regulation and use of the Beverley common pastures are governed by an Act (1836 c. lxx) the title of which is “An Act to provide for the better regulation of certain common pastures within the Borough of Beverley in the East Riding of the County of York” (“the 1836 Act”);

(4)

Section 27 of the 1836 Act requires the maintenance of a roll (the “Pasture Freemen’s Roll”) of those of the Freemen of Beverley who are resident within the municipal borough (“the Pasture Freemen”) and section 5 of that Act provides for the Pasture Freemen annually to appoint 12 pasture masters from amongst themselves:

(5)

For the purposes of the 1836 Act the municipal borough is the municipal borough as defined in Schedule O to the Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832 (c. 64):

(6)

The area of the municipal borough (which was itself altered after 1832) is significantly smaller than the area of Beverley as it exists today:

(7)

The Beverley Pasture Masters are responsible for the regulation and maintenance of the Beverley common pastures, which are an important facility providing pasturage for animals:

(8)

The restricted area of the municipal borough for this purpose has contributed to a severe decline in the number of people entitled to be included on the Pasture Freemen’s Roll to the extent that the numbers of Pasture Freemen are insufficient to secure the continued appointment of the Beverley Pasture Masters for the foreseeable future:

(9)

The Beverley common pastures are vested in East Riding of Yorkshire Council, which is also responsible for maintaining the roll of Pasture Freemen:

(10)

It is expedient to safeguard the Beverley Pasture Masters' continued existence by extending the pool of potential Pasture Freemen so that the number of Pasture Freemen can be maintained, if not increased:

(11)

In relation to the promotion of the Bill for this Act the East Riding of Yorkshire Council has complied with the requirements of section 239 of the Local Government Act 1972:

May it therefore please Your Majesty that it may be enacted, and be it enacted, by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—