Court of Appeal puts end to challenge concerning deregistration of village green

An appeal challenging a High Court decision over the deregistration of part of a village green by housebuilder Laing Homes has been dismissed by the Court of Appeal.

At the High Court, Local resident Patricia Strack, acting on behalf of Woodcock Village Green Committee, had challenged the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs after a planning inspector found for the housebuilder in a case where Hertsmere Borough Council had refused planning consent.

High Court judge, Mr Justice Lane, rejected her challenge and found that the inspector had acted lawfully when allowing Laing Homes' application under section 16 of the Commons Act 2006 for the deregistration and exchange of land at Woodcock Hill village green.

On appeal, Strack argued that, contrary to Mr Justice Lane's findings in the High Court, the rights of the qualifying residents and the public had been conflated,

She also argued that Lane J departed from the 2015 Common Land Consents Policy's intended meaning when holding that it did not require the interests of residents with rights over the village green to be no worse off as a result of the exchange of land involved.

The release land comprises 33,000m² of the existing village green and the replacement land 36,000m² west of the green.

Richard Buxton Solicitors, which acted for the appellant, said a further ground of appeal was that Lane J erred when holding that the planning inspector involved had committed no error of law in his consideration of the 'fallback option' of the relevant inhabitants maintaining the land.

But the Court of Appeal dismissed her appeal in a decision handed down on Thursday (25 April), following a hearing that took place in January.

Sir Keith Lindblom, Lord Justice Singh and Lady Justice Elisabeth Laing took the decision.

The Court of Appeal justices refused permission for Strack to appeal to the Supreme Court and ordered her to pay the Secretary of State's costs of the appeal, capped at £7,500.

Adam Carey