Posts by Abbie Cavendish
Common land restored: ‘The Bunny Hill’ in Cornwall
We are delighted by the planning inspectorate’s decision to grant the society’s application to register as common land 3.86 hectares of land at The Bunny Hill and part of Fentongoose Common. The land is situated approximately four kilometres south-west of Truro in Cornwall, and north-west of Carrine Common. The land comprises trees interspersed with scrub…
Read MoreDartmoor backpack camping: we join case in court of appeal
Update July 2023: the appeal was heard on July 18 2023. A summary and link to watch can be found here. Update June 2023: the society has submitted to the court a witness statement, made by case officer Hugh Craddock, and the society’s skeleton argument, courtesy of Richard Honey KC, Ned Westaway and Esther Drabkin-Reiter,…
Read MoreWe condemn skyline development at Swansea beauty-spot
We have made a strong objection to plans to desecrate Kilvey Hill, east of Swansea. We have submitted our objection to Asbri Planning, acting for Swansea Skyline Ltd, which proposes to develop the hill and surrounding area with a leisure development. This comprises, among other infrastructure, gondola stations, a multi-purpose visitor building, luge tracks, chairlift,…
Read MoreMichèle Kohler, 1945-2022
Michèle Kohler, who has died aged 76, was a generous supporter of the Open Spaces Society. Michèle was born in California in 1945. The family moved to New York after the war where her parents were both family doctors. She read history at the University of Rochester, New York, when she was only 15. In…
Read MoreNew green at Long Ditton, Surrey
We are delighted that Elmbridge Borough Council in Surrey has voluntarily registered Stokes Field, Long Ditton, as a village green. This follows a long campaign by the society. Comprising about eight hectares of mixed woodland, open grassland and scrub intersected by numerous paths, the land is also a Local Nature Reserve. After Elmbridge Council’s consultants…
Read MoreEnvironment minister breaks government pledge to save historic paths
We have condemned the Environment Secretary’s decision to break the government’s undertaking last year to ditch the 2026 deadline for recording lost paths in England. Thérèse Coffey has now decided not to revoke the deadline but to extend it for five years. The deadline means that on 1 January 2031, public rights over thousands of…
Read MoreAmenity groups slate flood scheme on Kendal’s common land
With the Friends of the Lake District we have slated the decision of a planning inspector to allow flood-defence works on Gooseholme Common in the heart of Kendal in Cumbria. The application, made by the Environment Agency, was for permanent flood-defence works including walls, kerbs, floodgates, subterranean culvert works with associated hardstanding, access hatches, and…
Read MoreOpen spaces and paths: a new guide to protection
Introducing a new guide to help local councils protect precious green spaces and paths, Kate Ashbrook, our general secretary, says: ‘Often town, parish and community councils (local councils) are unaware of all the extensive powers they have to deal with problems on open spaces and paths. ‘These powers are scattered in different and sometimes obscure…
Read MoreLost in the detail?
Our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, criticises the Westminster government for its lack of action on public access. At the end of February we still awaited action on access in the environmental land management scheme (ELMS). Defra officials are now seeking our views, but it doesn’t feel like the outcome will amount to much. In December,…
Read MoreGreenfields Recreation Ground to stay green
The supreme court has held that Greenfields Recreation Ground in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, cannot be developed, despite the grant of planning permission (now quashed) by Shropshire Council. This is because the land is subject to a statutory trust, and the supreme court ruled that the council failed to follow the legal procedure for disposal of public…
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