Newtown Common is a village in the Basingstoke and Deane

Basingstoke and Deane

Basingstoke and Deane is a local government district and borough in Hampshire, England. Its primary settlement is Basingstoke. Other settlements include Bramley, Tadley, Kingsclere, Overton, Oakley, Whitchurch and the hamlet of Deane, some from Basingstoke....

 district of Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. Its nearest town is Newbury

Newbury, Berkshire

Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings. Newbury is best known for its racecourse and the adjoining former USAF...

, which lies approximately 2.5 miles (4.1 km) north-east from the village.

History

The Feudal title Lord of the Manor of Newtown was sold at auction in 1986 for £4,200 by the Earl of Carnarvon to local businessman Michael Farrow. Using the title, Mr Farrow claimed the common and registered it with the Land Registry

HM Land Registry

Land Registry is a non-ministerial government department and executive agency of the Government of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1862 to register the ownership of land and property in England and Wales...

. He then transferred it to Bakewell Management, who requested a fee of 6% of the property value from all of the homeowners who used the common to access their property. Initially successful, the request for money to cross the ransom strip was overturned by the House of Lords on 1 April 2004.

Governance

Newtown Common is part of the civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 of Newtown

Newtown, Hampshire

Newtown is a village and civil parish in the English county of Hampshire, located just south of Newbury.-History:The mediaeval borough of Newtown was formed from part of the parish of Burghclere, and flourished in the 13th and 14th centuries. Sandleford Priory in Berkshire was founded between 1193...

, and is part of the Burghclere, Highclere and St. Mary Bourne ward

Wards of the United Kingdom

A ward in the United Kingdom is an electoral district at sub-national level represented by one or more councillors. It is the primary unit of British administrative and electoral geography .-England:...

 of Basingstoke and Deane borough council

Basingstoke and Deane

Basingstoke and Deane is a local government district and borough in Hampshire, England. Its primary settlement is Basingstoke. Other settlements include Bramley, Tadley, Kingsclere, Overton, Oakley, Whitchurch and the hamlet of Deane, some from Basingstoke....

. The borough council is a Non-metropolitan district

Non-metropolitan district

Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...

 of Hampshire County Council

Hampshire County Council

Hampshire County Council is the county council that governs the majority of the county of Hampshire in England. It provides the upper tier of local government, below which are district councils, and town and parish councils...

.