Is Your Christmas Celebration “Green” Enough?

No I am not referring to the likely environmental impact of your festivities this year but something which may impact on the social and cultural life of your community for years to come. The “green” I am talking about is the “Village Green”.

This year saw the Commons Act 2006 come into force so it is a good time to look back at the recent developments and current rights in relation to land which many see as valued community havens.

We probably all recognise the traditional image of a Village Green as a well kept area of grass at the centre of the community where villagers celebrate annual activities such as singing carols around the Christmas tree.

In fact, the legal definition of a Village Green is much wider than the traditional image. Indeed, the recent case of Sunningwell included in its definition of a Village Green any area of land where the local inhabitants carry out activities of a far less organised nature. These activities might include dog walking, the collecting of berries or tobogganing in the snow so long as their enjoyment by the locals are frequent and not sporadic.

So land may be registered as a Village Green if the locals have enjoyed a customary right to participate in lawful sports and pastimes for at least 20 years.

The 20 years use must, in general, continue up to or including the date of the application for registration but, following changes this year, there is an additional window of opportunity for pre-existing applications of up to five years after the date when the use ceased.

At a time when open space is at a premium the ability to register a Village Green is now, more than at any other time, relevant to local communities.

So, if your community regularly enjoyed sports and pastimes on an area of land you might take a moment, whilst sipping your mulled wine, singing carols and watching you children toboggan past on sledges, to consider whether that land could be registered as a Village Green. If so, it could spread a little joy for many future Christmas times to come.

Published 04/12/2007. The author of this article is Anna Phillips