British Eventing
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HoofBeat New Events Diary - March 2009

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RIGHTS OF WAY WATCH

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Forestry Commission replies to our story

My Twelve Access Days of Christmas

If the Forestry Commission agrees

Bob Milton

Day 5.

On the fifth day of Christmas:

The amount of potential common land that could be added to the registers is probably over a 1, 000sq kms in the pilot areas but that is just not happening.

Who is going to do it and when?

The amount of potential common land that could be added to the registers is probably over a 1, 000sq kms in the pilot areas but that is just not happening.There seems to be a resistance for some Commons Registration authorities in what was originally called the seven pilot areas to reviewing the commons registers in the light of the revised application criteria set out in the Commons Act 2006.

One has to wonder why there is such a variation between authorities. Can it only be resources or does it go much deeper and reflect on the way things were done at the time. The complexity of the subject is compounded in some of the inherent anomalies that emerge once anyone starts to delve into the legal interpretations and the format of the Registers. There are two major issues in my opinion.

The first is the mutual exclusivity of the Commons and Village Greens registers so that it is impossible without a lot of research to glean from the Village Green register if the land is a common under its own Act or Inclosure award as is the case with Englefield Green and Tunbridge Wells and Rusthall commons.

The second is that the Village Green Register and the boundaries are not digitally mapped so do not appear on MAGIC and therefore the boundaries cannot be compared to any common land status that may be available or be checked for encroachment.

These problems only go to compound the difficulties the public have in finding where they can legitimately gain access to the countryside. One third of all common land is equestrian access yet there are many areas where because of the problems above and the lack of roll out of the Commons Act 2006 that access is denied both by the lack of information to the public but also because land managers do not understand the relevant legislation and so deny equestrians there rights believing that equestrians only can use bridleways.

Only the week before the snow came I was verbally abused by a group of birders for riding on a track on a s193 common. Yet it was alright for ten of them to wander at will along it. Who frightens the protected species more?

The amount of potential common land that could be added to the registers is probably over a 1000sq kms in the pilot areas but that is just not happening. Who is going to do it and when.

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