Posts by Abbie Cavendish
Public-path guillotine to be lifted
We are delighted at the government’s Boxing Day announcement that it intends to abolish the 2031 cut-off for recording public paths[1]. Says Kate Ashbrook, our general secretary: ‘This news is extremely welcome, as thousands of unrecorded paths will be saved from extinction. We are delighted that the government is now demonstrating its commitment to our…
Read MoreGovernment’s new planning policies give green spaces the cold shoulder
We have expressed our fears for the future of open spaces in the government’s revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) published today (12 December 2024). Says Kate Ashbrook, our general secretary: ‘We called for legal protection and long-term maintenance of urban green space; standards for the amount of green space in development, and a duty on…
Read MoreFencing refused on Norfolk common
We have welcomed the decision to refuse consent for fencing on Shereford Common in Norfolk. This is a small, five-hectare common south of St Nicholas’ church, Shereford (near Fakenham), and largely sandwiched between a country lane and the River Wensum. In August 2023, the Raynham estate, owned by Charles Townshend, sought the consent of the Defra…
Read MoreParish council sets the record straight for North Yorkshire village green
Azerley Parish Council has persuaded North Yorkshire County Council correctly to record Bogs and Hodgson Top, at Winksley, five miles west of Ripon, as a village green rather than a common. The land lies to the north of the road from Winksley village to Winksley Bridge, between the River Laver and the road. In 1969,…
Read MoreNew guidance published on purging pointless path-paraphernalia
We have published Removing and improving path paraphernalia guidance to local authorities, land managers, and rights-of-way volunteers on the provision of easy access to paths and countryside. The information sheet aims to help those who share the society’s goal of reducing unnecessary and undesirable structures from our public paths. Too often our way is barred…
Read MoreLast chance for Dartmoor backpack-camping rights
The final hearing on the Dartmoor backpack camping case is tomorrow (8 October) in the supreme court. The case, between landowners Alexander and Diana Darwall and the Dartmoor National Park Authority, has previously been heard in the high court and the court of appeal. Now it goes to the supreme court for final determination. The…
Read MoreGuts—not cuts
In the latest edition of Open Space magazine, our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, urges the new government to be bold in securing new and better access. She writes: The new Westminster government arrived sooner than expected. Does this mean new access sooner than expected? The government has so far been silent on this subject as…
Read MoreGreen-space neglect in government’s new policies
We are deeply concerned at the direction taken by the government’s revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Our case officer Nicola Hodgson has responded to the consultation on the revised policy. You can read Nicola’s full response here. ‘The government has not proposed any significant changes to the NPPF to support the creation and protection…
Read MoreGoodbye to blocked byway in East Sussex
Following pressure from Chris Smith, our local correspondent for Lewes district in East Sussex, the Firle Estate has reopened a blocked byway. This is an old, two-kilometre-long route, shown on some eighteenth-century maps. It runs between Newelm, west of Firle, westwards to the A26 road at The Lay in Beddingham parish. It was probably first…
Read MoreByway-blockage epidemic in Wiltshire
The society has been pressing Wiltshire Council to secure the removal of obstructions on byways in Wiltshire. The council has finally acted—but only in one case, ordering a farmer to remove a set of illegal gates across a byway in the Wylye Valley. That followed a statutory notice from us requiring the council to have…
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