A window of opportunity to correct mistakes on the registers of common land and village greens in Devon and Cornwall will be closing at the end of this year.
The reforms to common land introduced by the Commons Act 2006 included a mechanism allowing landowners to apply for land to be removed from the register on the basis that the initial registration was incorrect, since the land in question was not in fact common or green. The possibility of deregistration is potentially of considerable value – mistakes were not uncommon under the old registration system, and having your land incorrectly listed as common or green can cause significant problems, especially when you wish to sell. This is particularly true if the boundary of a common or green has been incorrectly drawn so as to include a house, garden or land within the curtilage of a dwelling.
However, applications to remedy such errors can only be submitted for a limited time, and in Devon and Cornwall (excluding the areas covered by the Plymouth and Torbay unitary authorities) the deadline is 31st December 2020. As such, if you own land which you believe has been incorrectly registered as common or green, you should investigate or take advice as soon as possible.