Tarring Park could become a registered town or village green, protected by law against encroachment. Objections go to West Sussex by 15 October 2026.

Tarring Park could be registered as a town or village green. West Sussex County Council has published notice of an application to add the park to its register of greens. Anyone who wants to object has until 15 October 2026.

Registration is the strongest legal protection an open space in England can get. Defra’s factsheet on town and village greens sets out two Victorian laws that apply once land is on the register:

  • Section 12 of the Inclosure Act 1857 protects a green against damage and against interruption of its use “as a place for exercise and recreation”. Damaging one is a criminal offence.
  • Section 29 of the Commons Act 1876 makes “encroachment on, or inclosure of, a green, and interference with or occupation of the land” illegal, unless it is to improve people’s enjoyment of it.

What the application says

The application was made by a Worthing resident under section 15(1) of the Commons Act 2006. The county council’s notice is dated 3 September.

It claims the park qualifies through use “as of right” for lawful sports and pastimes for 20 years or more. The use it describes is:

“Use by local residents for the purpose of all kinds of open-air recreational use: children playing, informal sports, dog walking, picnics, and community events.”

The notice does not say why the application was made now. We found no planning application for the park itself on the borough’s planning register. The county council’s guidance says you cannot apply to register land that is affected by, or identified for, potential development in the planning system.

The park

The borough council’s parks directory lists it as Tarring Recreation Ground, on South Street. Its page says the site “was purchased in 1922”. It describes a children’s play area with a play wall and “a large open tree-lined grass area for informal leisure pursuits”.

The equipment listed is:

  • play equipment for children aged about 2 to 6
  • play equipment for children aged 6 and over
  • a multi-sports court for football, basketball and cricket
  • outdoor fitness equipment
  • a teen shelter

The council’s renaturing programme keeps the main area mown and leaves the edges under the trees unmown. A volunteer group, the Friends of Tarring Park, is listed on the council’s park volunteering page.

The test the application has to pass

Under section 15(2), the applicant has to show that “a significant number of the inhabitants of any locality, or of any neighbourhood within a locality” have used the land for lawful sports and pastimes for at least 20 years. They must still be doing so at the time of the application.

“As of right” means without permission, without force and without secrecy.

The same Defra factsheet carries a warning that is relevant to a public park. It says that if the land “is made available by your local authority under a law then your application will probably fail the ‘as of right’ test because the use of the land is likely to have been ‘by right’.”

Tarring Park is one of the borough council’s own parks. The notice does not say under what powers the land is held, and that is a question the county council will have to weigh. If it is satisfied the land qualifies, the notice says, it “will so register the land”. No decision date has been given.

How to see the application, object or give evidence

  • Read the application, which includes a plan of the land, at Worthing Town Hall, Chapel Road, BN11 1HA, or at County Hall, West Street, Chichester. Both are open for this from 9am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, except public holidays.
  • Object by sending a statement of the facts behind your objection to Legal Services, West Sussex County Council, County Hall, Chichester PO19 1RQ, or by email to legal.services@westsussex.gov.uk. Quote reference CC803.17435.NC. It must arrive on or before 15 October 2026.
  • Give evidence in support. The county council says everyone giving evidence for an application needs to fill in an individual evidence questionnaire. The Open Spaces Society also supplies one.

Anything you send cannot be treated as confidential. The notice says it will be copied to the applicant and may be disclosed to others.

What it means for you

  • If you use the park, your own years of dog walking, play or picnics are the kind of evidence the application relies on.
  • If you think the park should not be registered, you have until 15 October to say why, in writing, with the reference number.
  • If you are unsure what is proposed, the plan of the land is only available in person at the Town Hall or County Hall.

For other open spaces across the borough, see our guide to things to do in Worthing.

Sources