Woodland near Hemel Hempstead receives common land registration after conservation campaign

A conservation body has announced a winning bid to secure common land status for woodland near Hemel Hempstead.

The Open Spaces Society has announced that the local authority has granted the status on Bury Wood.

Common land status has been given to approximately 6.3 hectares of woodland south of Boxmoor.

Owned by The Box Moor Trust, a Hertfordshire-based charity, Bury Wood is adjacent on its north boundary to Sheethanger Common.

In 1968, application provisionally was made to register the land as common land but was subject to an objection. After this the applicants withdrew their request.

The Open Spaces Society has linked the new application to a new law passed in the past 20 years. Using the Commons Act 2006, it was argued that the land was eligible for re-registration.

The society argues that the land is waste land of a manor, which means that it can be registered as common land.

Frances Kerner, Open Spaces Society registration officer, said: “This is an example of a provisional registration of common land, made under the 1965 Commons Registration Act, being cancelled without full consideration given at the time to the merits of and challenges to the application. While we recognise that the land is in the care of the Box Moor Trust, we are pleased that it now has the added protection of the Commons Act 2006 with access for walkers and riders under section 193 of the Law of Property Act 1925.”