Town and village greens

What is a town or village green?

The existence of a town or village green (TVG) may restrict or even prevent development. It is a criminal offence to disturb or interfere with the use or enjoyment of a TVG. Consequently, an application to register a TVG is a useful weapon for anyone wishing to stop development of a green area. See Practice Note: What is a town or village green?

TVGs may or may not be subject to rights of common. They are areas of open space that have been used by the inhabitants of the town, village or parish, for the purposes of lawful sports and pastimes. There is no legal distinction between town greens and village greens; it just depends on where they are situated.

Legislative context

The Commons Act 2006 (CoA 2006) will ultimately repeal the Commons Registration Act 1965 (CRA 1965). CoA 2006 aims to consolidate, simplify and improve the previous legislation. It is being introduced in stages; most provisions are being brought into force by order made by the Secretary of State in relation to England,

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