Further Information and Guidance

The links below provide access to downloadable texts relating to Schedule 2(4). Potential applicants may wish to study the relevant parts of the 2006 Act and related ‘Explanatory Notes’. They should also be familiar with the Regulations and the official Guidance to Applicants produced by DEFRA – though it may be found that the Guidance to the Pilot Area Authorities provides more of an insight into the implementation process.

The commons registers should be seen as a, if not the, primary source. Entries in the land section of the register are required to include a reference to the relevant sheet(s) of the register map. The map should show all of the land that was provisionally registered under the 1965 Act, including the areas that were not finally registered but may now be eligible for re-registration under Schedule 2(4). These areas should be clearly indicated on the map by purple hatching (though some earlier cancellations may be hatched in black; as may land that was de-registered under the Rectification of Registers Act 1989 – though the latter will usually also be indicated by a letter ‘R’). The records held by the registration authority of the original application may also need to be examined.

A set of Notes on the 1965 Act (the provisions of the Act, the regulations, prescribed forms, registration periods, etc) is available below. The Notes are intended to be used as a quick-reference text or aide memoire when working with entries in the Commons Registers. The Applications Worksheet provides practical advice and information for those pursuing applications under Schedule 2(4) and includes extracts from key sections of the official Guidance. The two Reports offer a detailed analysis of the Lancashire and Hertfordshire registers showing which CL units are eligible for re-registration. They draw on the evidence to be found in the case files and Local Record Offices; and provide insights into the nature of this evidence and the extent to which it may be used to support applications under Schedule 2(4). The Archives Index covers the records held by national bodies (DEFRA, TNA & HLRO).