Facts and figures
Please note that the data below relate only to England (except where stated). See the note at the bottom of the page for validity of data.
Area
- There are 373,570 hectares of registered common land in England (about 3% of the total land area)*. This figure does not include the New Forest, Epping Forest, or certain other commons exempted from registration under the Commons Registration Act 1965. These exempted areas account for a further 25,470 hectares of common land, making a total of 399,040 hectares of common land in England. The data below relate only to land which is registered common land, and not to exempted common land. [Source: see B and C below, and data supplied by the Forestry Commission and East Sussex County Council]
- There was, in 1993, a further 4,660 ha of registered town or village greens, comprised in 4,370 register units. Some of these greens are subject to rights of common. For further information, please see the database of greens . [Source : survey of greens c.1993]
- There are 175,000 hectares of finally registered common land in Wales (about 8.4% of the total land area). There are no significant areas of common land exempted from registration in Wales. [C]
- Nearly 57% (213,000 ha) of registered common land is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). [C]
- 47% (176,500 ha) of registered common land lies mainly within national parks. [C]
- 31% (115,000 ha)of registered common land is wholly or partially within Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). [C]
- Half of all registered common land units (3,608) are less than 1 ha in area — a total area of 1,072 ha. [B]
- 89 registered commons land units are 1,000 ha or more in area — a total of 192,057 ha. [B]
- Over half of England's common land is in Cumbria and North Yorkshire 31% and 21%, 116,500 and 76,900 ha, respectively.[C]
Rights
- Of 7,039 common land units in England, only 35% have registered rights of common and these commons account for nearly 88% of the total area of common land. [B]
- Of the commons with registered rights, 65% have five registered rights or fewer, 13.7% have 20 rights or more. [B]
- Rights to graze cattle are registered on 20% of commons, sheep on 16%, horses and ponies on 13% and rights of estovers on 10%, the other main rights categories are present on fewer than 10%. [B]
- 24,157 rights entries are finalised in the registers (such figures are indicative given that cross-referencing, duplication of rights on adjacent commons etc., create an extremely complex situation). [B]
Ownership
The following data are compiled from the biological survey on common land (see source B below): data relating to ownership are particularly vulnerable to change, and these data should be treated with caution as they are now substantially out of date.
- 1,900 commons have no known owners.
- 1,740 commons (other than the 47 in the ownership of traditional estates) are in private ownership, 679 have private owners for parts of the land, 1,230 are owned by parish and other councils and 431 are owned by a variety of organisations including charities, trusts etc. Many commons have multiple owners. [B]
Note:
The data here have been derived from two sources: those marked [B] from the DETR-sponsored biological survey of common land undertaken by J. Aitchison, and others at the University of Aberystwyth over a twelve year period (1988-2000), and those marked [C] from the Countryside Agency and Countryside Council for Wales mapping of registered common land for the purposes of statutory rights of access under Part I of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.
The biological survey derived much of its information from the Phase I Habitat Survey carried out by the Nature Conservancy Council (1990), with additional detailed information provided through site visits, and only looked at commons greater than 1 hectare in size.
Both surveys used the commons registers held by local authorities as a means to identify commons, but the registers can change, and the data included here will not necessarily represent the latest position.
* The value of 373,570 ha for registered common land is derived from 369,410 ha recorded on the Countryside Agency's map of registered common land [C] ; 3,340 ha in East Sussex, and 820 ha in Inner London [B] .
Database of registered common land in England
A database of registered common land in England is now available. The database is believed to contains records for all parcels of common land, with various data including location, area, extent of rights etc. The information was assembled between 1982 and 1987? The database is not kept up-to-date. The database is available in pdf and excel.
- Common Land in England
[5.33 MB] - Common Land in England
[5.78 MB]
There are other common land and town or village green databases available:
Page last modified:
26 September 2007
Page published: 5 February 2003