Certain types of works on common land can be carried out without consent from the Secretary of State because they are exempt. Other works will require deregistration of the land, because an application for consent under Section 38 is unlikely to succeed. It is ultimately up to the applicant to determine whether consent is needed, and which part of the legislation applies.
The guidance sheets below will help inform that decision.
1a Consent to construct works on common land
1b Works and processes that do not need Section 38 consent
1c Works exempt from Section 38 consent process
2a Special consent provisions: National Trust Commons
2b Special consent provisions (Village Greens, Commons in London Boroughs, Schemes of Management)
4 Car Parks, Access Roads, Tracks and Footpaths
5 Maintaining and Extending Existing Works
6 Possible Modifications and Conditions
8 Sites of Special Scientific Interest and other European Conservation Sites
9 Works that are exempt from the section 38 controls under section 38(6)
12 Enforcement against unlawful works on common land
12a Unlawful works erected before 1 October 2007
Guidance on the Secretary of State’s policy in relation to consents issued under the Commons Act 2006 can be found on the Defra website
For guidance regarding deregistering common or village green land (under Section 16), please refer to the guidance notes for the Section 16 application form.
The content on this page is the responsibility of the Planning Inspectorate.
