R (Lewis) v Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council (No 2)

In R (Lewis) v Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council (No 2), the appellant, Kevin Paul Lewis, sought judicial review of a decision by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council to reject an application to register a piece of land in Redcar, known as Coatham Common, as a town or village green under the Commons Act 2006. The land had been used as part of a golf course until 2002 and was then subject to an application for registration by local residents for recreational purposes. The inspector, Mr Vivian Chapman QC, found that the local residents' use of the land for recreation deferred to the use of the land by the golf club and therefore did not amount to use "as of right." The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, holding that the deference shown by local residents precluded their use of the land from being "as of right."

The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that the inspector's assessment amounted to an error of law. The Court found that the local residents' use of the land for recreation was open and continuous, and a reasonable landowner would have recognised that the local residents were asserting a right to use the land for lawful sports and pastimes. The Court also rejected the argument that the local residents' deference to the golfers precluded their use of the land from being "as of right." The Supreme Court concluded that the land should be registered as a town green under the Commons Act 2006.