Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013

15 Registration of town or village green: statement by owner

In the Commons Act 2006, after section 15 (registration of greens) insert—

“15A Registration of greens: statement by owner

(1) Where the owner of any land in England to which this Part applies deposits with the commons registration authority a statement in the prescribed form, the statement is to be regarded, for the purposes of section 15, as bringing to an end any period during which persons have indulged as of right in lawful sports and pastimes on the land to which the statement relates.

(2) Subsection (1) does not prevent a new period commencing.

(3) A statement under subsection (1) must be accompanied by a map in the prescribed form identifying the land to which the statement relates.

(4) An owner of land may deposit more than one statement under subsection (1) in respect of the same land.

(5) If more than one statement is deposited in respect of the same land, a later statement (whether or not made by the same person) may refer to the map which accompanied an earlier statement and that map is to be treated, for the purposes of this section, as also accompanying the later statement.

(6) Where a statement is deposited under subsection (1), the commons registration authority must take the prescribed steps in relation to the statement and accompanying map and do so in the prescribed manner and within the prescribed period (if any).

(7) Regulations may make provision—

(a) for a statement required for the purposes of this section to be combined with a statement or declaration required for the purposes of section 31(6) of the Highways Act 1980;

(b) for the requirement in subsection (3) to be satisfied by the statement referring to a map previously deposited under section 31(6) of the Highways Act 1980;

(c) as to the fees payable in relation to the depositing of a statement under subsection (1) (including provision for a fee payable under the regulations to be determined by the commons registration authority);

(d) as to when a statement under subsection (1) is to be regarded as having been deposited with the commons registration authority.

(8) An agreement under section 4(3) of this Act or section 2(2) of the Commons Registration Act 1965 which would have the effect of requiring an owner of land to deposit a statement under subsection (1) with a registration authority in Wales is to be disregarded for the purposes of this section.

(9) In this section “prescribed” means prescribed in regulations.

15B Register of section 15A statements

(1) Each commons registration authority must keep, in such manner as may be prescribed, a register containing prescribed information about statements deposited under section 15A(1) and the maps accompanying those statements.

(2) The register kept under this section must be available for inspection free of charge at all reasonable hours.

(3) A commons registration authority may discharge its duty under subsection (1) by including the prescribed information in the register kept by it under section 31A of the Highways Act 1980 (register of maps and statements deposited and declarations lodged under section 31(6) of that Act).

(4) Regulations may make provision—

(a) where a commons registration authority discharges its duty under subsection (1) in the way described in subsection (3), for the creation of a new part of the register kept under section 31A of the Highways Act 1980 for that purpose;

(b) as to the circumstances in which an entry relating to a statement deposited under section 15A(1) or a map accompanying such a statement, or anything relating to the entry, is to be removed from the register kept under this section or (as the case may be) the register kept under section 31A of the Highways Act 1980.

(5) In this section “prescribed” means prescribed in regulations.”