A CONSERVATION body is starting its national search for lost historic 'Common Land' in Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen.

The Open Spaces Society believes there may be many areas which should have the medieval right to open access and protection from development reinstated.

The public has the right to walk on all 'commons' and to ride on many, while local people can also have freedom to graze animals or collect wood on such land.

Over the centuries much common land has controversially been enclosed by landowners - as featured in the October 2018 bestseller 'Tombland' by C J Samson - but a new register was compiled between 1967 and 1970.

Now the government is giving conservation groups and communities a second chance to to add areas of historic common land to the list, in Lancashire's case by December 31 next year.

Significant areas of the upper slopes of Pendle Hill and surrounding moorland are historically deemed 'common land' and in 2003/2004 a dispute over a controversial planning application for an activity centre on Cranberry Moor near Darwen centred on whether the site was or was not 'common land'.

Now the Open Spaces Society has appointed Dr Frances Kerner to lead the search for lost patches of land that should have 'commons' status.

She will look first at the opportunities in Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen where the society believes there is considerable potential to rescue lost commons.

Dr Kerner said: "With my combined administrative experience and historical research skills I feel this is just the job for me, and I am looking forward to enabling the society to re-register common land under part 1 of the Commons Act 2006.

"This should open up new areas for public enjoyment, on foot and horseback."

Blackburn with Darwen planning chairman Cllr Dave Smith said: "I welcome this initiative. Having a proper map of common land both locally and nationally will help planners greatly.

"In the early 2000s, we had a very complex planning issue to decide in Darwen which revolved around whether land at Cranberry Moor was or was not 'common land'. It's status was very unclear which this."

Pendle councillor and Liberal Democrat peer Lord Tony Greaves, a vice-president of the Open Spaces Society, said: "I welcome this initiative.

"It will hopefully identify new areas of open space where people will be able to walk freely.

"Large areas of land on Pendle Hill and the surrounding moorland are common land."

An application in 2015 by the Open Spaces Society and The British Horse Society to to register land at Hoddlesden Moss as 'common land' was rejected by a government inspector.