Can a third party occupying an area of Parish land without a formal agreement, accept liability for H and S on the land?

Question

Following up on my previous question of a stream crossing a village green, the same stream flows into a Pinfold through a heavily modified channel which increases the speed of flow with some turbulence. The Pinfold is open to the Green on one side. The pinfold is being used with the knowledge of the PC but without formal agreement, as a garden extension. Question is, can the person using the area accept (in writing) liability for Safety and is it likely that his insurance policy would cover it. If he can and it does, is there any liability on the PC? Thankyou.

Answer 1

Who owns the Pinfold and what is its legal status (ie.is it part of the registered Village Green)?

Comments

The Pinfold is not registered at the Land Registry, but the Council is preparing to register it as it's own property, having shown that it is not part of any other property curtilage.

Answer 2

The Occupiers' Liability Act 1957 placed a duty of care on the occupier of any land or premises over anybody lawfully present (i.e. visitors). This duty of care was extended by the Occupiers' Liability Act 1984 to include all persons, whether present lawfully or not (i.e. including trespassers).

Whilst it appears that the resident is an occupier in this situation, it would be for the courts to determine whether the Council remains an occupier, assuming that it owns the land in question, due to the informal and undocumented nature of the arrangement. If the resident has an accident within this ill-defined garden extension, the Council could be liable, however perverse that may seem.

My advice, as in all such cases, is to formalise the tenancy, by whatever means the Council deems appropriate.

Comments

I don't think you are going to get any better advice than this,  I"d go with it,  I can't help thinking that "preparing to register" the land at the same time as letting someone use it informally as a private garden will muddy the waters.

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Thankyou, this will be a big help.

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Thank you Dave, much clearer now.