The Commons Registration (England) Regulations 2008

Management of application

20.—(1) As soon as practicable after receiving an application and (if any) the specified fee, the registration authority must send an acknowledgement of receipt to the applicant, which must include—

(a) the reference number allocated to the application; and

(b) a postal address and an e-mail address to which written communications to the registration authority may be sent.

(2) The registration authority may, either when it acknowledges receipt of the application or at any time subsequently, direct the applicant—

(a) to provide any further information or documents necessary to enable the application to be determined;

(b) (otherwise than in the case of an application referred to in regulation 21(2)) to publish a notice of the application in such one or more newspapers circulating in the relevant area as the registration authority may direct, and as appears to it sufficient to secure adequate publicity;

(c) to post a notice of the application at any place or places specified in the direction, whether on the land to which the application relates or elsewhere; or

(d) to serve a notice of the application on persons specified in the direction, in addition to the requirements in regulation 22.

(3) The registration authority may specify a time for complying with any directions given under this regulation.

(4) The applicant must give notice to the registration authority when any directions given under this regulation have been complied with, and—

(a) if the applicant was given a direction under paragraph (2)(b), that notice must be accompanied by a copy of the relevant page of each newspaper in which the notice of application was published;

(b) if the applicant was given a direction under paragraph (2)(c), that notice must include details of where and when the notice of the application was posted; and

(c) if the applicant was given a direction under paragraph (2)(d), that notice must include details of the date on which, and the means by which, each notice of the application was served.

(5) If the applicant fails to comply with regulation 22, or with any directions given under this regulation, the registration authority may—

(a) treat the application as abandoned;

(b) give directions to the applicant to remedy the non-compliance (and, if appropriate, extend the deadline for persons to make representations); or

(c) waive the non-compliance, if satisfied in all the circumstances that no-one is likely to be prejudiced by it and it would be unreasonable to require compliance.