Commons Registration Act 1965

8 Vesting of unclaimed land. E+W

(1) Where the registration under section 4 of this Act of any land as common land or as a town or village green has become final but no person is registered under that section as the owner of the land, then, unless the land is registered under the Land Registration Acts 1925 and 1936, the registration authority shall refer the question of the ownership of the land to a Commons Commissioner.

(2) After the registration authority has given such notices as may be prescribed, the Commons Commissioner shall inquire into the matter and shall, if satisfied that any person is the owner of the land, direct the registration authority to register that person accordingly; and the registration authority shall comply with the direction.

(3) If the Commons Commissioner is not so satisfied and the land is a town or village green he shall direct the registration authority to register as the owner of the land the local authority specified in subsection (5) of this section; and the registration authority shall comply with the direction.

(4) On the registration under this section of a local authority as the owner of any land the land shall vest in that local authority and, if the land is not regulated by a scheme under the M1 Commons Act 1899, section 10 and 15 of the M2 Open Spaces Act 1906 (power to manage and make byelaws) shall apply in relation to it as if that local authority had acquired the ownership under the said Act of 1906.

[F1 (5) Subject to subsection (6) of this section, the local authority in which any land is to be vested under this section is—

(a)

if the land is in a parish or community where there is a parish or community council, that council, but, if the land is regulated by a scheme under the M3 Commons Act 1899, only if the powers of management under Part I of that Act are, in accordance with arrangements under Part VI of the M4 Local Government Act 1972, being exercised by the parish or community council;

(b)

if the land is in a London borough, the council of that borough; and

(c)

in any other case, the council of the district in which the land is situated.

(6) Where—

(a) any land has been vested in a district council in accordance with subsection (5)(c) of this section, and

(b) after the land has been so vested a parish or community council comes into being for the parish or community in which the land is situated (whether by the establishment of a new council or by adding that parish or community to a group of parishes or communities for which a council has already been established),

then, if the circumstances are such that, had the direction under subsection (3) of this section been given at a time after the parish or community council had come into being, the land would in accordance with subsection (5)(a) of this section have been vested in the parish or community council, the district council shall, if requested to do so by the parish or community council, direct the registration authority to register the parish or community council, in place of the district council, as the owner of the land; and the registration authority shall comply with any such direction.

(7) The council of any district, parish or community affected by any registration made in pursuance of subsection (6) above shall pay to the other of those councils so affected such sum, if any, as may be agreed between them to be appropriate to take account of any sums received or to be received, or any expenditure incurred or to be incurred, in respect of the land concerned, and, in default of agreement, the question of what sum, if any, is appropriate for that purpose shall be determined by arbitration.]

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 8(5)-(7) substituted by Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70), s. 189(2)

Marginal Citations

M1 1899 c. 30.

M2 1906 c. 25.

M3 1899 c. 30.

M4 1972 c. 70.