The House was asked whether the county council, which owned and maintained a park under a power accorded by a local Act of Parliament, were in rateable occupation of it.
Held: Lord Halsbury said that: ‘there is no possibility of beneficial occupation to the county council; they are incapable by law of using it for any profitable purpose; they must allow the public the free and unrestricted use of it.’ A park dedicated in perpetuity has no occupier.
Lord Herschell said that the Committee of Management are ‘merely custodians . . to hold it and manage it for the use of the public’.
Judges:
Lord Halsbury LC, Lord Herschell
Citations:
[1897] AC 625
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Barkas, Regina (on The Application of ) v North Yorkshire County Council and Another SC 6-Mar-2014
The Court was asked as to the registration of a playing field as a ‘town or village green’. Local residents asserted that their use of the land, having been ‘as of right’ required the registration. They now appealed against rejection of that . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Land, Rating
Updated: 26 August 2022; Ref: scu.543939