R (St John College Cambridge) v Cambridgeshire County Council [2017] EWHC 1753 (Admin)
In a recent case between St John’s College Cambridge and Cambridge County Council it was held that applicants for land to be registered as a town and village green should not be restricted to having only one opportunity to correct defects in their application.
The case concerned St John’s College Cambridge (the “College”) trying to deter people from using land they owned but which people had used as a sports field for many years. The local inhabitants applied to Cambridge County Council (the “Council”) to have the land registered as a town and village green which would preserve their ability to use it. Mr Davies made the application but it was initially returned by the Council due to there being insufficient evidence. Mr Davies rectified this and sent the application back to the Council. The application was subsequently advertised and sent to the College. The College objected on the basis there were further defects in the application but they agreed that Mr Davies should be given a reasonable period in which to correct the defects. Mr Davies did so, but the Council then spotted a further problem with the application and gave Mr Davies more time in which to amend the application. By this point it was over a year from when Mr Davies had made the initial application.
The College argued that the Council had no jurisdiction to allow this further opportunity to correct the application and, as such, the application had not been duly made.
The College’s argument was firmly rejected. The court held that there was nothing in the relevant legislation to suggest that the applicant could only be given one opportunity to remedy a defect in an application, and it would be unrealistic in practice if this was to be the case. The Judge also said that the DEFRA guidance to registration authorities was wrong and included some revised guidance as an annex to the judgment.
We advise on Town and Village Green (TVG) applications both for landowners and applicants. Please contact us if you would like to discuss any of these issues further.