There were several legal requirements which had to be met by groups before payments were made. In practice some projects were paid before the legal requirements were met but this then lead to problems in actually getting groups to produce the documents that we needed as there was no longer an effective incentive for them to produce the documents.

Examples of the documents that were required are on the site

A brief explanation of each one and its use is provided here:

Report on title
Deed of covenant
Planning permission
Land tenure document e.g. Countryside Agency approved lease or framework agreement where land not purchased
Evidence that restriction has been registered

Report on title � This was required by all groups and is rather like the search that is carried out when a house is purchased. It also confirms the financial and legal status of the grant recipient and whether they are acting within their powers in carrying out the DG project. It will show any encumbrances that may be attached to the land and which could affect its use as a Doorstep Green. In it the solicitor responsible for its preparation also undertakes to prepare and execute the deed of covenant and to register the restrictive covenant on the Land Register on behalf of their client.

Deed of covenant � This is designed to protect the land used for the Doorstep Greens from use as anything else for the liability period. When prepared and approved, the original is forwarded to the Land Registry so that a restrictive covenant can be placed on the land which will ensure as outlined above that for the liability period, should any attempt to dispose of the land take place, then the covenant will operate and we would be notified and asked for permission to dispose of the land. Again this was a requirement for all groups.

Planning permission � at PPP stage groups were required to make enquiries of their local planning authority to see whether permission was needed to carry out the project. In many cases it wasn�t as the sites were being refurbished, not created, but in some instances change of use permission was needed, for example where agricultural land was being converted into green space. A letter from the planning authority stating that permission was not required or a copy of the decision notice where it was, were placed on the file.

Land tenure documents – where land was purchased, we requested a copy of the title certificate for the file. Where it was leased we had to approve the lease before work could begin, to ensure that the lease was not in conflict with any of the terms and conditions of grant, or indeed the spirit of Doorstep Greens.

Restriction � this is the protection placed on the land to prevent its use as anything other than a Doorstep Green. Confirmation that the restriction were registered was obtained from the solicitor acting on behalf of the project and was issued by the Land Registry in various different forms (but usually on the Land Registry’s form K22).