Common Land
Notices of Landowner Statements
Notices of landowner deposits under section 15A(1) of the Commons Act 2006 are posted below. Full details can be found on the Landowner Statements Register.
The Commons Act 2006 allows landowners to submit a statement to prevent land being registered as a town or village green, as the deposit brings to an end any period of use of the land as of right for recreation, provided the land has been used for that purpose for less than 20 years. A landowner statement triggers a two year period of grace during which local inhabitants can apply to register the land as a town or village green.
For further information about this process please see Town and Village Greens.
Commons Act 2006 Section 15A(1) Notices:
Public Notices
The Commons Act 2006
Section 19 (2) (a)
Mistakes made by the registration authority.
Notice is hereby given that an application has been made by Mr H D Craddock, Open Spaces Society, 25a Bell Street, Henley-On-Thames, to Pembrokeshire County Council as Commons Registration Authority, concerning land at VG5 – Wolfscastle Village Green.
A summary of the effect of the application is as follows: to correct a mistake made by the commons registration authority in making or amending an entry in the register.
The Applicant asserts that the land shaded green on the plan annexed to the application was not correctly transposed, with the part of the land shaded blue excluded from the final register map. The Applicant alleges that certain areas of the land identified in the original application plan were not finally registered as part of VG5, and that this was a mistake on the part of the registration authority.
If the application is granted, the registration authority will give effect to the application by adding the excluded area to the register map.
Representations:
- Must quote the Application ref. VG5/CORR
- Must state the name and postal address of the person making them, and the nature of that person’s interest (if any) in the land affected by the application, and may include an e-mail address;
- Must be signed by the person making them;
- Must state the grounds on which they are made
- Must be sent to: The Commons Registration Officer, Pembrokeshire County Council, County Hall, Freemans Way, Haverfordwest SA61 1TP or e-mail: commonland@pembrokeshire.gov.uk
Representations cannot be treated as confidential. Where an application is referred to Planning and Environment Decisions Wales, all representations will be sent to PEDW, contactable by e-mail at PEDW.Casework@gov.wales.
The date on which the period for making representations expires is 9th May 2024.
Documents relating to the application are available for inspection on request. Please telephone (01437) 775330. The Notice and accompanying plan can also be viewed by accessing the Pembrokeshire County Council website, Common Land pages.
Dated: 28th March 2024
Signed: Rhian Young, Head of Law and Governance
Description of the land concerned:
.55 hectares of land at Wolfscastle Village Green, in the Community of Wolfscastle. Centred on Ordnance Survey grid reference: SM956266, as shaded green and blue on the accompanying plan.
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Common Land and Village Greens
Common Land and Village Greens Approximately 8.4% of Wales is covered by registered common land amounting to around 175,000 hectares. The main features of such land are that it is generally open, unfenced and remote - particularly in the upland areas of England and Wales.
There is no single definition of common land. It is defined differently under various statutes. However, the general meaning is land over which there are rights of common. Rights of common are rights (usually of an agriculture nature) exercised by persons who have no ownership in the soil.
Common land covers some 5653 ha of Pembrokeshire or 3.5% of the land area (including Pembrokeshire Coast National Park). There are 249 commons, of which 113 are less than one hectare in size. The largest, Mynydd Preseli is 2132ha. Seventeen percent of the total numbers of commons in Wales fall within Pembrokeshire. There are 42 Village Greens covering an area of some 52ha.
Management of Common Land
Many commons are still important for agriculture and serve the economic interest of farming communities. At present there is a lack of effective mechanisms for managing agricultural activity, in particular grazing, on commons. This can sometimes lead to severe over-grazing and consequent damage to the soil, vegetation and biodiversity.
Town or Village Greens
Village greens are usually areas of land within a defined locality over which the local inhabitants can indulge in local sports and pastimes. Whilst village greens may be privately owned, many greens are owned and maintained by community councils.
Section 15 of the Commons Act 2006 came into force in Wales on 6 September 2007. Any person can now apply to have land registered as a green if it has been used by local people for recreation 'as of right' (i.e. without permission, force or secrecy) for at least 20 years.
Conservation Team
Tel: 01437 764551
Email: commonland@pembrokeshire.gov.uk
Useful Links
Commons Registration
Pembrokeshire County Council is a Registration Authority under the Commons Registration Act 1965 and the Commons Act 2006 and holds the registers for both common land and town or village greens within Pembrokeshire, which includes common land and town or village greens that fall within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.
As a Commons Registration Authority, we have a statutory duty to maintain the Registers of Common Land and Town or Village Greens. The registers are available for public inspection between 9am to 4.30 pm Monday to Friday each week (public holidays excepted). Whilst there is no charge for inspection of the registers a fee is applicable for any photocopies required.
If you wish to inspect the registers and be able to speak to someone it would be advisable to telephone ahead to make an appointment. You can make an appointment to view the registers by contacting the Common Land Officer on 01437 775330 or commonland@pembrokeshire.gov.uk
The Commons Registration Service has administrative functions only. Information can be provided as to procedures, but where legal advice/interpretation of the law is required, independent legal advice must be obtained.
The Commons Act 2006
The Commons Act 2006 brings new responsibilities for commons registration authorities in updating and maintaining registers of common land and town and village greens.
The Act aims to:
- protect common land from development
- allow more sustainable management of common land
- improve protection of common land from neglect and abuse
- Modernise registration of common land and greens to ensure that all enjoy the same protection
More information about the Commons Act 2006 can be obtained from the Welsh Government’s website (opens in a new tab)
Applying to correct the Registers
The Commons Act 2006 acknowledges that the Commons Registration Act 1965 has proved to have deficiencies and provides a mechanism to replace and improve the current registration system. The Court of Appeal held that even where land had been wrongly registered as common land, the 1965 Act provided no mechanism to enable such land to be removed from the register once the registration had become final.
From May 5th 2017, Registration Authorities will be able to receive applications under section 19 of the 2006 Act, which provides for the correction of the registers in prescribed circumstances, and under Schedule 2 to the 2006 Act, which allows land which fulfils relevant criteria to be added to the register if it is not registered, or removed from the register if it was wrongly registered.
Applicants may, depending on the application they are making, be required to pay an application fee. Charges for different types of applications are listed below, but potential applicants are advised to contact the Registration Authority in the first instance for further advice on their options.
- Correcting any other mistake £1081.00
- Processing a Landowner Statement £261.00
- Removing duplicate from Register £162.50
- Update Name and Address £162.50
- Accretion or Diluvion £162.50
How to apply
The forms required for an application to rectify a commons or town or village green application can be found below.
Before completing any of these forms, you are strongly advised to read the guidance to applicants published by Welsh Government.
Please note:Any party involved in an application to correct a commons or town or village green register may wish to obtain their own independent legal advice. Pembrokeshire County Council, as the Commons Registration Authority, is unable to provide this.
Conservation Team
Tel: 01437 764551
Email: commonland@pembrokeshire.gov.uk
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