Common land and village greens
Denbighshire is a Commons Registration Authority under the Commons Registration Act 1965 and Commons Act 2006.
The Council holds the registers for both common land and village greens within Denbighshire and has a statutory duty to maintain the registers.
Each area of common land and town or village green is listed in the registers under a unique unit number. The register for each unit is divided into three Sections
Land - this includes a description of the land registered as common or town or village green and a definitive register map;
Rights - this includes a description of the rights of common such as a right to graze stock, or right to collect to wood or turf over the area of the common on which they are exercisable and to what land these rights are attached.
Ownership - this includes details (if known) of owners of the registered land. However, entries in this section of the registers are not held to be conclusive in law.
Following introduction of the Commons Act 2006 (Correction, Non- Registration or Mistaken Registration) (Wales) Regulations 2017 which came into force on 5 May 2017, Denbighshire County Council as Commons Registration Authority is now able to receive applications under section 19 and Schedule 2 of the Commons Act 2006.
- Section 19 enables commons registration authorities to correct certain errors in the commons registers
- Schedule 2 allows land fulfilling relevant criteria to be added or removed from the register (if not registered or wrongly registered).
A list of the possible applications and the relevant fees are set out below.
Application fees
| Provision under, or for the purposes of which, the application is made | Purpose of application | Application Fee | Application Form |
|---|
| Section 19 (2) (a) or (c) of the 2006 Act |
Correction of a mistake made by registration authority or removing a duplicate entry from the register. |
No fee |
CA10W |
| Section 19 (2) (b) of the 2006 Act |
Correction, for a purpose described in section 19(2)(b) |
£306 |
CA10W |
| Section 19 (2) (d) or (e) of the 2006 Act |
Correction, to update the details of any name or address, or to take account of accretion or diluvion. |
£51 |
CA10W |
| Schedule 2, paragraph 2 or 3, to the 2006 Act |
Non-registration of common land or town or village green |
No fee |
CA13W |
| Schedule 2, paragraph 4, to the 2006 Act |
Waste land of a manor not registered as common land |
No fee |
CA13W |
| Schedule 2, paragraph 5, to the 2006 Act |
Town or village green wrongly registered as common land |
No fee |
CA13W |
| Schedule 2, paragraphs 6 - 9, to the 2006 Act |
Deregistration of certain land registered as common land or as a town or village green |
£2,040 |
CA13W |
| Section 15 (1) of the 2006 Act |
Registration of a new town or village green, other than by the owner |
No fee |
N/A |
| Section 15 (8) of the 2006 Act |
Registration of a new town or village green |
No fee |
N/A |
Application forms
You can get the application forms to apply to amend the common land and town or village green registers as well as the regulations referred to above and comprehensive guidance notes from the Welsh Government website (external website).
Applicants should use the form that is most applicable to their circumstances. Failure to use the correct form or an application to the Council by letter will result in such application being regarded as invalid and will be returned to the applicant. Any maps or plans which are required to accompany the application form must be to the prescribed scale as detailed in the application forms.
Applicant should be aware that on any application, two sets of fees may be payable, one to the Council as Commons Registration Authority and one to the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) in the event that the application is referred to the Welsh Ministers for determination. PINS will advise the applicant of their fees at the time of referral.
You are strongly advised to read the guidance for applicants on the below link.
Commons Act 2006 - Section 19, 22 and Schedule 2: Correction, Non-Registration or Mistaken Registration (external website)
This is a complex part of the law, and readers should consider seeking independent local/legal advice about the exact status of the land and its user before attempting to do anything on what they think might be common land.
Time for Determination
There is no specific time for determination of these applications. Application which are held to be valid will be given attention in order of receipt.
Contact details