Law of Property Act 1925

Commons and Waste Lands E+W

193 Rights of the public over commons and waste lands. E+W

(1) Members of the public shall, subject as hereinafter provided, have rights of access for air and exercise to any land which is a metropolitan common within the meaning of the Metropolitan Commons Acts, 1866 to 1898, or manorial waste, or a common, which is wholly or partly situated within [F1 an area which immediately before 1st April 1974 was] a borough or urban district, and to any land which at the commencement of this Act is subject to rights of common and to which this section may from time to time be applied in manner hereinafter provided:

Provided that—

(a) such rights of access shall be subject to any Act, scheme, or provisional order for the regulation of the land, and to any byelaw, regulation or order made thereunder or under any other statutory authority; and

(b) the Minister shall, on the application of any person entitled as lord of the manor or otherwise to the soil of the land, or entitled to any commonable rights affecting the land, impose such limitations on and conditions as to the exercise of the rights of access or as to the extent of the land to be affected as, in the opinion of the Minister, are necessary or desirable for preventing any estate, right or interest of a profitable or beneficial nature in, over, or affecting the land from being injuriously affected, [F2 for conserving flora, fauna or geological or physiographical features of the land,] or for protecting any object of historical interest and, where any such limitations or conditions are so imposed, the rights of access shall be subject thereto; and

(c) such rights of access shall not include any right to draw or drive upon the land a carriage, cart, caravan, truck, or other vehicle, or to camp or light any fire thereon; and

(d) the rights of access shall cease to apply—

(i) to any land over which the commonable rights are extinguished under any statutory provision;

(ii) to any land over which the commonable rights are otherwise extinguished if the council of the county [F3 , county borough][F4 or metropolitan district]. . . in which the land is situated by resolution assent to its exclusion from the operation of this section, and the resolution is approved by the Minister.

[F5 (2) The lord of the manor or other person entitled to the soil of any land subject to rights of common may by deed, revocable or irrevocable, declare that this section shall apply to the land, and upon such deed being deposited with the Minister the land shall, so long as the deed remains operative, be land to which this section applies.]

(3) Where limitations or conditions are imposed by the Minister under this section, they shall be published by such person and in such manner as the Minister may direct.

(4) Any person who, without lawful authority, draws or drives upon any land to which this section applies any carriage, cart, caravan, truck, or other vehicle, or camps or lights any fire thereon, or who fails to observe any limitation or condition imposed by the Minister under this section in respect of any such land, shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding [F6 £20] for each offence.

(5) Nothing in this section shall prejudice or affect the right of any person to get and remove mines or minerals or to let down the surface of the manorial waste or common.

(6) This section does not apply to any common or manorial waste which is for the time being held for Naval, Military or Air Force purposes and in respect of which rights of common have been extinguished or cannot be exercised.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words inserted by Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70), S. 189(4)

F2 Words in s. 193(1) in para. (b) of the proviso inserted (1.4.2001 for E. and 1.5.2001 for W.) by 2000 c. 37, s. 46(3), Sch. 4 para. 1 (with s. 43); S.I. 2001/114, art. 2(2)(b)(j); S.I. 2001/1410, art. 2(b)(j)

F3 Words in s. 193(1)(d)(ii) inserted (1.4.1996) by 1994 c. 19, s. 66(6), Sch. 16 para. 7(1) (with s. 54(7), Sch. 17 paras. 22, 23(2)); S.I. 1996/396, art. 4, Sch. 2

F4 Words inserted by Local Government Act 1985 (c. 51, SIF 81:1), s. 16, Sch. 8 para. 10(5)

F5 S. 193(2) repealed (21.6.2004 for W. and 6.12.2006 to the extent not already in force for W. and otherwise prosp.) and superseded by 2000 c. 37, ss. 46(1)(a), 102, 103, Sch. 16 Pt. I (with s. 43); S.I. 2004/1489, art. 2 (with saving in art. 3); S.I. 2006/3257, art. 2(c)(i) (with saving in art. 4)

F6 Figures substituted by Criminal Justice Act 1967 (c. 80), Sch. 3 Pt. I

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 193 saved by New Forest Act 1964 (c. 83), s. 5(2), Commons Registration Act 1965 (c. 64), s. 21(1) and Road Traffic Act 1972 (c. 20), s. 36(4)

C2 Functions of Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food under s. 193 now exercisable by Secretary of State: S.I. 1955/554 (1955 I, p. 1200), 1965/143, 1967/156 and 1970/1681

C3 S. 193: powers transferred (1.7.1999) by virtue of S.I. 1999/672, art. 2, Sch. 1

C4 S. 193: power to modify conferred (12.8.2007 for W. and 1.10.2007 for E.) Commons Act 2006 (c. 26), ss. 17(6)-(8), 56 (with s. 60): S.I. 2007/2386, art. 2; S.I. 2007/2584, art. 2

C5 S. 193(6) extended by S.I. 1965/1536

194 Restrictions on inclosure of commons. E+W

[F7 (1) The erection of any building or fence, or the construction of any other work, whereby access to land to which this section applies is prevented or impeded, shall not be lawful unless the consent of the Minister thereto is obtained, and in giving or withholding his consent the Minster shall have regard to the same considerations and shall, if necessary, hold the same inquiries as are directed by the M1 Commons Act, 1876, to be taken into consideration and held by the Minister before forming an opinion whether an application under the Inclosure Acts, 1845 to 1882, shall be acceded to or not.

(2) Where any building or fence is erected, or any other work constructed without such consent as is required by this section, the county court within whose jurisdiction the land is situated, shall, on an application being made by the council of any county [F8 or county borough]. . . or district concerned, or by the lord of the manor or any other person interested in the common, have power to make an order for the removal of the work, and the restoration of the land to the condition in which it was before the work was erected or constructed, but any such order shall be subject to the like appeal as an order made under section thirty of the Commons Act, 1876.

(3) This section applies to any land which at the commencement of this Act is subject to rights of common:

Provided that this section shall cease to apply—

(a) to any land over which the rights of common are extinguished under any statutory provision;

(b) to any land over which the rights of common are otherwise extinguished, if the council of the county [F8 , county borough][F9 or metropolitan district]. . . in which the land is situated by resolution assent to its exclusion from the operation of this section and the resolution is approved by the Minister.

(4) This section does not apply to any building or fence erected or work constructed if specially authorised by Act of Parliament, or in pursuance of an Act of Parliament or Order having the force of an Act, or if lawfully erected or constructed in connexion with the taking or working of minerals in or under any land to which the section is otherwise applicable, or to any [F10 electronic communications apparatus installed for the purposes of an electronic communications code network.]]

Textual Amendments

F7 S. 194 repealed (1.10.2007 for E. and otherwise prosp.) by Commons Act 2006 (c. 26), ss. 44(1), 56, Sch. 6 Pt. 2 (with s. 60); S.I. 2007/2584, art. 2(d)(ii) (with art. 3(5))

F8 Words in s. 194(2)(3)(b) inserted (1.4.1996) by 1994 c. 19, s. 66(6), Sch. 16 para. 7(2)(a)(b) (with s. 54(7), Sch. 17 paras. 22, 23(2)); S.I. 1996/396, art. 4, Sch.2

F9 Words inserted by Local Government Act 1985 (c. 51, SIF 81:1), s. 16, Sch. 8 para. 10(5)

F10 Words in s. 194(4) substituted (25.7.2003 for specified purposes, 29.12.2003 for specified purposes) by Communications Act 2003 (c. 21), ss. 406(1)(6), 408, 411, Sch. 17 para. 3 (with Sch. 18); S.I. 2003/1900, arts. 1(2), 2(1), 3(1), Sch. 1 (with art. 3(2) (as amended (8.12.2003) by 2003/3142, art. 1(3))); S.I. 2003/3142, art. 3(2) (with art. 11)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C6 S. 194 applied by Towyn Trewan Common Act 1963 (c. 4), s. 6(4)

S. 194 excluded by New Forest Act 1964 (c. 83), ss. 3(2)(4)(6),4(1)

S. 194 saved by Commons Registration Act 1965 (c. 64), s. 21(1)

S. 194 applied by Greenham and Crookham Commons Act 2002 (c. i), s. 35 (with ss. 38, 39) (the amendment coming into force in accordance with s. 1(2)-(4) of the amending Act)

C7 Functions of Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food under s. 194 now exercisable by Secretary of State: S.I. 1955/554 (1955 I, p. 1200), 1965/143, 1967/156 and 1970/1681

C8 S. 194: powers transferred (1.7.1999) by virtue of S.I. 1999/672, art. 2, Sch.1

C9 S. 194: functions made exercisable concurrently (22.7.2004) by The Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (Establishment of Conservation Board) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/1777), art. 25(2)(iv)

S. 194: functions made exercisable concurrently (22.7.2004) by The Chiltern Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (Establishment of Conservation Board) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/1778), art. 25(2)(iv)

C10 S. 194(2) amended by Administration of Justice (Appeals) Act 1934 (c. 40), s. 2(1), Sch. Pt. I

C11 S. 194(2) extended by Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Act 1988 (c. 4, SIF 81:1), ss. 2(5), 23(2), 27(2), Sch. 3 para. 38(1)(b), Sch. 7; and (19.9.1995) by 1995 c. 25, ss. 70, 125(2), Sch. 9 para. 1(2)(b) (with ss. 7(6), 115, 117, Sch. 8 para. 7)

C12 S. 194(2) modified (1.10.2006 for E. and 6.9.2007 for W.) by Commons Act 2006 (c. 26), ss. 44(1), 56, Sch. 4 para. 6 (with s. 60); S.I. 2006/2504, art. 2(f); S.I. 2007/2386, art. 3(n)

C13 S. 194(4) excluded (28.6.1995) by 1995 c. iii, s. 21(1) (with s. 25)

Marginal Citations

M1 1876 c. 56.