COMMONS

HC Deb 19 July 1972 vol 841 cc865-6

Mr. Graham Page

I beg to move Amendment No. 1173, in page 123, line 24, leave out from beginning to end of line 27 and insert: '(2) For subsection (5) of section 8 of the Commons Registration Act 1965 (council in which unclaimed land is to be vested) there shall be substituted the following subsections: — (5) Subject to subsection (6) of this section, the local authority in which any land is to be vested under this section is" '.

Mr. Deputy Speaker

With this Amendment it will be convenient for the House to discuss Government Amendment No. 1174.

Mr. Page

The effect of these Amendments is to enable a parish or community council which comes into existence after a town or village green in its area has earlier been vested in the district council under Section 8 of the Commons Registration Act, 1965, to require the land to be transferred to itself in place of the district council in any case where the new parish or community council would have been the recipient authority if it had existed when the land was originally vested.

2.45 a.m.

In Standing Committee my hon. Friend the Member for Devizes (Mr. Charles Morrison) moved an Amendment to provide for such a transfer to happen automatically on the creation of the new parish or community council. My hon. Friend withdrew that Amendment after I had explained that it would possibly be inconvenient to make this an automatic transfer but that we would look at the question of the transfer if the parish or community council so requested. This is what we have introduced in these Amendments. I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising the matter. I hope that the House will accept the Amendments.

Amendment agreed to.

Amendment made: No. 1174, in page 123, line 37, at end insert:

1. "(6) Where—
   1. (a) any land has been vested in a district council in accordance with subsection (5)(b) of this section, and
   2. (b) after the land has been so vested a parish or community council comes into being for the parish or community in which 866 the land is situated (whether by the establishment of a new council or by adding that parish or community to a group of parishes or communities for which a council has already been established),
   then, if the circumstances are such that, had the direction under subsection (3) of this section been given at a time after the parish or community council had come into being, the land would in accordance with subsection (5)(a) of this section have been vested in the parish or community council, the district council shall, if requested to do so by the parish or community council, direct the registration authority to register the parish or community council, in place of the district council, as the owner of the land; and the registration authority shall comply with any such direction.
2. (7) The council of any district, parish or community affected by any registration made in pursuance of subsection (6) above shall pay to the other of those councils so affected such sum, if any, as may be agreed between them to be appropriate to take account of any sums received or to be received, or any expenditure incurred or to be incurred, in respect of the land concerned, and, in default of agreement, the question of what sum, if any, is appropriate for that purpose shall be determined by arbitration".—[Mr. Graham Page.]