Common Land Searches

What is Common Land? 

Common land is sometimes used to describe land in public ownership or land that everyone has access to. In fact it is neither. Land must be legally registered as a ‘Common’ before this description applies.

The Common Land and Village Green Registers 

As a Commons Registration Authority, we are responsible for maintaining the Registers of Common Land and Village Greens. This register is a statutory document, under Commons Registration Act 1965, and shows all such registered land in our area.

The register lists all units of Common Land/Village Greens in three parts:

Part 1: Describes the land and its boundaries, details the date it became common land or a village green, and who registered it. 
Part 2: Shows who has common rights over the land and what those rights are, for example, sheep or cattle grazing, the right to remove gravel and stone. 
Part 3: Details who owns the land (if registered).

Buying Common Land

If you are planning to buy a piece of land, you may need to carry out a search of the Register of Common Land & Village Greens to ensure that there are no rights of commons attached to the land.

If you are not using a solicitor, you should complete a CON29O form and submit this online with a plan of the property or land you with to search on our Pay Us page. The results will be returned by email when the search is complete.

Common Land and the Law

People often think that any person can enter common land. This is not always the case but under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 there is now a public right of access to nearly all common land.

The laws that apply to common land are often the same as for any other piece of private land, except for certain people who have ‘commoners’ rights’. This is a complex part of the law, and you should seek local advice if you think land you wish to use is common land before using it.

Commons pre-date parliament, and even the monarchy. They are left over from the times when land was mainly ownerless. The manorial system appointed owners to the land but the peasantry kept their customary rights – ‘commoners’ rights’ – which included activities like collecting firewood, fishing or grazing their animals.

Contact us

See the land charges contact details.