THE Open Spaces Society has urged local council clerks to be active in rescuing green spaces in their communities.

Nicola Hodgson, the society's case officer, made the plea when she addressed the Society of Local Council Clerks' national conference on Saturday (1 March).

Ms Hodgson was speaking on the threats to town and village greens, common land and open spaces - and what local councils can do to protect them.

"Local councils are uniquely placed to protect open spaces for public enjoyment," she told delegates near Derby.

"Open spaces are under threat of development and the government has relaxed the laws intended to protect them. Here are some things that council clerks can do."

Ms Hidgson presented a four-point plan for local council clerks.

Suggested action included:

* Registering land which belongs to the council as a town or village green; they can do this voluntarily and then the land is protected from development.

* Helping local people to identify and register land as a town or village green based on 20 years' use for informal recreation. It is vital to do this before the land is threatened with development, or the landowner has challenged people's use of the land.

* Organising surveys of the local commons, or annual beating the bounds events, and check whether there are any unlawful encroachments; if there are, follow them up with the county or unitary council, or consider taking legal action.

* Ensuring that local people identify land they wish to protect as Local Green Space so that it can be designated and secured as part of a neighbourhood plan.

Ms Hodgson said: "The Open Spaces Society provides advice and guidance and will be pleased to help local councils to protect their open spaces for the benefit of the community."

Land can be registered as a town or village green if it has been used by local people for 'lawful sports and pastimes' - in other words, informal recreation - for 20 years freely and openly, without force or secrecy.

A landowner can register land voluntarily without needing to produce evidence of use. Once registered, the land is protected from development by nineteenth-century legislation.

Local Green Space was introduced in the National Planning Policy Framework in March 2012.

It is land which is identified through the neighbourhood or local planning process and is then protected from development. There is little information or guidance on how it can be achieved.