A test-case dispute that centres on the issue of whether an implied permission for use of land can defeat a claim that the land in question has been used for more than 20 years is to be decided by the House of Lords on Thursday.
Local resident Pamela Beresford had opposed Sunderland City Council’s plans to sell a sports arena adjacent to Princess Anne Park, in Washington, to the City of Sunderland College for the development of an education college. She claimed that the council had unlawfully refused to register the site as a village green despite the fact that it had been used for public recreation for at least 20 years.
In July 2001, the Court of Appeal dismissed claims that the council had taken into account irrelevant factors and that their decision to refuse to register the land as a village green was irrational. However, Dyson LJ acknowledged that the case had raised an “issue of considerable general importance” on the status of village greens that had never before been considered directly by the courts.
References: EGi Legal News 11/11/03