Common land and town or village greens

We are responsible for maintaining the Registers of Common Land and Village Greens for Bedford Borough. This register is a statutory document (Commons Registration Act, 1965) and shows all such registered land in our area.

We amend the registers when we are notified by the Land Registry of changes in ownership of land and so it may not be conclusive.

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).

See GOV.UK for more information about the law regarding common land and village greens.

See the National Archives for more information about land ownership, use and rights about common lands

Common land searches

Bedford Borough Council carry out searches of the Common Land and Town or Village Green Registers. Normally, a Commons Search is carried out when a property is being bought or sold and usually via a solicitor.

Search certificates will reveal whether land is registered as common or village green, if there are rights of common, and whether or not ownership is registered.

We aim to reply to Common Land and Town or Village Green Searches within five working days.

Members of the public can inspect the register free of charge.

We are open Monday to Friday (except public holidays) between 9.30am and 4pm.

Please call 01234 276391 to make an appointment to view the registers.

Copies of the registers can be provided on payment of a fee.

Registering new town or village green

You can apply to have land registered as a green if it has been used by local people for recreation 'as of right' (ie without permission, force or secrecy) for at least 20 years.

See GOV.UK's guidance on how to apply for new common land or to make changes to the register. 

You can also visit The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for application forms

See the GOV.UK website for further information and details about restrictions or exclusions under the 2000 Act.

Application received to register a village green

Land east of 8 Fetlock Close, Clapham MK41 6BG

Commons Act 2006 – Section 15 (1)

Notice of an application for the registration of land as a town or village green

To every reputed owner, lessee, tenant or occupier of any part of the land described below, and to all others whom it may concern. 

Application has been made to Bedford Borough Council, Cauldwell Street, Bedford MK42 9AP by Councillor Jane Walker, 11 Dewlands, Oakley, Bedford MK43 7RL under section 15 (1) of the Commons Act 2006 and in accordance with the Commons (Registration of Town or Village Greens)  (Interim Arrangements) (England) Regulations 2007. 

The application seeks the inclusion in the register of the town and village greens of the land described in the Schedule below which is claimed to have qualified for the registration as a town or village green on 27 January 2023 by virtue of the land being used as right by the residents of Clapham for more than 20 years for lawful sports and pastimes. 

The application which includes a plan of the land proposed for registration, may be inspected at: 

1. Bedford Borough Council, Cauldwell Street, Bedford, MK42 9AP 

Between the hours of 9.30am and 4.30pm Monday to Friday. 

If the Commons registration authority is satisfied that the land described below qualifies for registration as a town or village green, it will so register the land. 

Any person wishing to object to the registration of the land as a town or village green should send a statement of the facts on which the objection is based to:  Local Land Charges Team – REF VG69, Bedford Borough Council, Cauldwell Street, Bedford MK42 9AP Or Local.LandCharges@Bedford.gov.uk 

On or before 5 October 2023 

Any representations that are to be taken into account by the Authority in reaching a decision on the application cannot be treated as confidential and will be copied to the applicant for comment and may be disclosed to other interested parties. 

31 August 2023 

Jon Shortland  
Chief Officer for Planning, Infrastructure and Economic Growth  

On behalf of the Registration Authority
Bedford Borough Council 

Schedule

Description of land claimed to have qualified for registration as a town or village green:

Land East of 8 Fetlock Close, Clapham MK41 6BG   

View a plan of the land (PDF)