Open Spaces Society deplores further erosion of green-space protection

The Friends of Heritage Green hope to achieve Village Green status for Heritage Green field in Norden

The Open Spaces Society, Britain’s leading pressure-group for town and village greens, is dismayed that the government has introduced further measures which restrict the ability of local people to register land as a town or village green.

Local people are able to register land which they have used for informal recreation for 20 years, without consent or challenge. Once registered, the land is protected from development and local people have rights of recreation there.

The Housing and Planning Act 2016 contains new ‘trigger events’ which prevent the registration of land as town or village green in England when a local planning authority publishes its intention to grant planning permission in principle, for instance by registering it as brownfield land.

The government has already restricted the opportunity to register land which is threatened with development.

The first was in the 'Growth and Infrastructure Act' in April 2013, which outlawed registration where a planning application had been made or the site had been identified for potential development in a draft development plan.

In February 2014 further ‘trigger events’ were added, preventing registration of land which is subject to a draft local development order, a draft neighbourhood development order or a request for deemed planning consent.

The further restrictions, introduced on 27 March, make it even more difficult to register land.

Nicola Hodgson, Open Spaces Society case officer, said: “We deplore the government’s continued attack on our green spaces. People often do not know of these planning threats and by the time they learn about them it is too late to apply to register a green.

“Local people naturally want to protect their customary enjoyment of green spaces for informal recreation, and registering land as a green is a good way to do this. But the rug is being pulled from under their feet—literally.”