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Royal Assent - Commons Act 2006

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The long awaited Commons Act 2006 received Royal Assent on 19th July 2006. Plans for implementation of the various provisions will be announced later. However, Sections 56 and 58 to 63 came into force on the day of Royal Assent; Sections 54 to 55 come into force two months after Royal Assent; Sections 9 to 57 and Schedule 1 came into force on the day of Royal Assent but have retrospective effect from 28th June 2005. Part 3 of the Act now comprises provisions on works in Sections 38 to 44, Part 4 will comprise Sections 45 to 51 and Part 5 will comprise Sections 52 to 63.

Updated copies of the Act and Explanatory Notes will be available from The Stationary Office (TSO) (order online at http://www.tso.co.uk) or telephone 0870 600 5522 or through booksellers. Alternatively, follow the link at the bottom of this page to access the Commons Act 2006 on-line.

Why is new legislation on common land necessary?

The current legislation, the Commons Registration Act of 1965, was intended to establish definitive registers of common land and town and village greens in England and Wales and to record the rights of common. Commons Registration authorities were appointed to compile the registers (these were generally the County Councils). The task of establishing the registers proved to be complex, however, and the 1965 Act proved to have deficiencies. Despite several initiatives over the intervening period in support of further legislation, it was not until the Rural White Paper in 2000 that a commitment to legislate was given, as soon as parliamentary time allowed. The Common Land Policy Statement 2002 set out intentions for future legislation.

What will the new Bill do?

The Bill will implement key elements of the Government's Common Land Policy Statement 2002 in that it:-

  • Helps protect common land in England and Wales for current and future generations and deliver real benefits in terms of sustainable farming, public access and biodiversity.
  • Enables commons to be managed more sustainably by commoners and landowners working together through statutory commons associations with powers to regulate grazing and other agricultural activities.
  • Reinforces existing protections against abuse, encroachment and unauthorised development.
  • Safeguards public access by enabling some commons to be registered, and wrongly registered land to be deregistered.
  • Streamlines the consents system for works and fencing on commons and ensures that existing statutory protections are applied consistently.