COMMONERS RIGHTS

There are several areas of common land which Llanbadoc Community Council owns and manages.

Common land is land usually in private ownership, which has rights of common over it. The main features of common land are that it is generally open, unfenced and remote.

There are six generally recognised rights of common:

  • The right to graze sheep or cattle (pasture)
  • The right to take peat or turf (turbary)
  • The right to take underwood, small branches, gorse or furze (Estovers)
  • The right to fish (piscary)
  • The right of pigs to eat acorns or beech mast which has fallen to the ground (pannage)
  • The right to take sand, gravel, stone or minerals (common in the soil)

The people who are able to exercise some, or all of the rights listed above are generally known as ‘Commoners’.

Common land and rights are a very ancient institution – even older than Parliament itself and have their origins in the Manorial System.

Monmouthshire County Council as a Commons Registration Authority is responsible for maintaining the Registers of Common Land and Village Greens. This includes updating the registers when ownership of common rights change, or where rights are apportioned. This register is a statutory document and shows all such registered land in your area. Each area of common land is listed in the registers under a unique ‘unit number’.

Each unit number is divided into three sections showing details of:

Land – this includes a description of the land together with a plan and notification of who registered it and when.
Rights – this includes a description of the rights of common, over which area of the common they are exercisable, the name of the person (the ‘commoner’) who holds those rights, and whether the rights arise by virtue of a separate land ownership by the commoner (i.e. they ‘attach’ to their land).
Ownership – this includes details (if known) of owners of common land, but entries in this section may not be conclusive.

 

Llanbadoc Commons and walks slider 3

The registers are available for public inspection free of charge at Monmouthshire County Council and you can make an appointment to view the registers by contacting them directly.

For more information please go to the following websites:
www.direct.gov.uk
www.defra.gov.uk
www.monmouthshire.gov.uk