Walkers on Boulsworth Hill, in one of the 'pioneer' areas

Campaigners are combining to launch a project to protect lost common land.

The Open Spaces Society has joined the British Horse Society in funding a researcher to help register land that was missed off records more than 40 years ago.

Steve Byrne will seek out land that was excluded or removed from the register following the passing of the Commons Registration Act in 1965. The Commons Act 2006 provides for ‘reregistration’ of land in seven areas, including Lancashire, where Mr Byrne will work.

Commons are protected from development because any works require the consent of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. There is a public right to walk on all commons, and a right to ride on some.

Schedule 2(4) of the 2006 act has designated seven ‘pioneer’ areas where reregistration can take place: Lancashire, Cornwall, Devon, Hertfordshire, and Kent, along with Blackburn with Darwen borough, and Herefordshire district.

Steve Byrne: “There are at least 1,800 sq km of land in England and Wales that may be eligible for reregistration under schedule 2(4). That is an area of about the size of the county of Worcestershire.

“This includes more than 250 sq km in the seven pioneer areas, with over a third of it in Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen where the applications will be submitted.

“The aim of the project is to demonstrate the significance of the schedule 2(4) provisions. It will focus on urban areas because land that is reregistered here will carry a right to walk and ride under section 193 of the Law of Property Act 1925.

“We hope that this project will encourage others to pursue similar applications elsewhere, that it will test the application process and help to suggest ways in which the costs at present faced by those pursuing applications in the public interest may be reduced.

“So far, little attention has been paid to the schedule 2(4) provisions, although they have been live in the pioneer areas for almost three years. The accepted view is that extensive areas of land were misregistered under the 1965 Act.

“This is not the case. In fact, very little land will be open to deregistration under the 2006 act. In contrast, the land eligible for reregistration under schedule 2(4) is equivalent to about a third of the area that is currently registered as common in England and Wales.”

Boulsworth Hill, one of the areas under consideration by Mr Byrne, has long been an access battleground, with the Access to Boulsworth Campaign for years fighting for the right to walk on the grouse moors once trodden by the Bronte sisters.

Nicola Hodgson, case officer for the Open Spaces Society, said: ‘We are pleased to be supporting this pioneering project which will help to right the wrongs of the Commons Registration Act 1965 and lead to a significant increase in the amount of common land available for public enjoyment.”

Mark Weston, the British Horse Society’s director of access, safety and welfare, added: “This project has the potential to provide access for horse riders on a large acreage of commons that were not registered under the original registration process.”

There are about 573,000ha (1.3 million acres) of registered common land in England and Wales.