An Act to provide for the registration of common land and of town or village greens; to amend the law as to prescriptive claims to rights of common; and for purposes connected therewith.

1.--

1. that there shall be registered, in accordance with provisions of this Act . . .

(a) land in England or Wales which is common land . . .;

(b) rights of common over such land; and (c) persons claiming to be or found to be owners of such land or becoming the owners thereof by virtue of this Act.

(2) After the end of an initial period, not being less than three years from the commencement of this Act, as the Minister may by order determine -

(a) no land capable of being registered under the Act shall be deemed to be common land or a town or village green unless it is so registered; and

(b) no rights of common shall be exercisable over any such land unless they are registered either under this Act or under the Land Registration Acts 1935 and 1936

10.-- The registration under this Act of any land as common land . . . or of any rights of common over any such land, shall be conclusive evidence of the matters registered, as at the date of registration, except where the registration was provisional only.

13.--

Regulations under this Act shall provide for the amendment of the registers maintained under this Act where -

(a) any land registered . . . ceases to be common land; or

(b) any land becomes common land or a town or village green; or

(c) any rights registered under this Act are apportioned, extinguished or released, or varied or transferred in such circumstances as may be prescribed.

22.--

`common land' means -

(a) land subject to rights of common (as defined in this Act) whether rights are exercisable at all times or only during limited periods;

(b) waste land of a manor not subject to rights of common or

[c] which falls within subsection (1A) of this section.

"'town or village green' means land which has been allotted by or under any Act for the exercise or recreation of the inhabitants of any locality or on which the inhabitants of any locality have a customary right to indulge in lawful sports and pastimes as of right for not less than 20 years or which falls within subsection (1A) of this section.

(1A) Land falls within this subsection if it is land on which for not less than twenty years a significant number of the inhabitants of any locality, or of any neighbourhood within a locality, have indulged in lawful sports and pastimes as of right, and either . .

(a) continue to do so, or

(b) have ceased to do so for not more than such period as may be prescribed or determined in accordance with prescribed provisions.

"rights of common" includes cattlegates or beastgates (by whatever name known) and rights of sole or several vesture or herbage or of sole or several pasture, but does not include rights held for a term of years or from year to year.