Common Land Toolkit

The Foundation for Common Land produced this Toolkit in 2010. It provides practical guidance for people who manage commons, hold rights of common or who work with commoners in England.

There are 20 Fact Sheets and Guidance Notes.

The Fact Sheets cover the following issues:

• Background - definitions and significance of common land

• Origins and history of common land

• Rights of common

• Registration of common land

• Ownership of commons

• Agricultural activity on commons

• Sporting management on commons

• Single Payment Scheme (SPS) on common land

• Fencing and other works on common land

• Governance and management of commons

• Public access to common land

The Guidance Notes include practical tips and checklists for the reader, they cover the following issues:

• Updating the commons registers

• Tracing ownership and managing commons with unknown ownership

• Managing undergrazed commons

• Negotiating management on common land

• Agri-environment schemes on common land

• Applying for consent to carry out works on common land

• Choosing and establishing the appropriate management model for common land

• Managing public access on common land

• Managing livestock on commons with unfenced roads