Hampstead Heath’s milestone Act of Parliament
Today, 29 June, is the 150th anniversary of the Hampstead Heath Act 1871, which empowered the Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) to purchase the Heath for the people. Now the Heath belongs to the City of London Corporation and is managed for the benefit of the public. We are proud to have played a major…
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Government’s response to Glover Review is lacklustre
The Open Spaces Society is disappointed at the government’s initial response to the Glover Review on England’s protected landscapes. This response is long overdue. The report, written by a panel led by Julian Glover, contains ambitious proposals. It was published in September 2019 and the then environment secretary, Theresa Villiers, welcomed the findings. Today the…
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We fight ugly mast on Pumlumon common
We have objected to plans for an ugly mast on Eisteddfa Gurig Common, on the slopes of Pumlumon in Ceredigion. The society is supporting the Cambrian Mountains Society (CMS) which has also submitted a strong objection. Lluest y Gwynt Wind Farm Ltd applied for an 80-metre-high, steel, meteorological monitoring mast and associated paraphernalia, for three…
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Planning to grant a green?
Grant a Green On 26 April we launched our Grant a Green campaign, calling on local councils in England and Wales voluntarily to register their open spaces as town or village greens. Registration will give local people rights of recreation on the land and protect it from development. Now is the time to secure our…
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Defra undermined
Our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, comments on the environment secretary’s recent announcements. The environment secretary George Eustice was on a high with his big announcements from Delamere Forest in Cheshire on 18 May. He grandly promised ‘to halt the decline of nature’ with a ‘legally-binding’ target for species abundance (to be defined) by 2030, restoration…
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Patricia’s heroic hike
Schoolgirl Patricia Wittbom chose to raise money for the society by a challenge walk. She tells her story. My name is Patricia Wittbom, I’m 11 years old and I am in year 7 at Tytherington School, Macclesfield, Cheshire. During the last year of covid lockdown I was lucky to be able to go out each…
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Old allies rekindle the campaign for national parks
With a government announcement on the review of England’s protected landscapes imminent, our general secretary Kate Ashbrook reflects on the seventieth anniversary of national parks and the work still to be done. Two years ago, I enjoyed a wonderful day in the Peak District—a place I love and to which I long to return once…
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High court puts a stop to zoo parking on Bristol downs
We have welcomed a high court order which, by 2022, will bring to an end decades of parking on Clifton and Durdham Downs to accommodate visitors to Bristol zoo. We celebrate the successful outcome of a High Court challenge to zoo parking on the Downs in Bristol. The group Downs for People, a member of…
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Ceredigion common saved from ugly fencing
We are delighted that a planning inspector has rejected an application from the Caron Estate for a 1,589-metre fence across Rhos Gelli Gron common, near Tregaron in Ceredigion. The estate applied for the fencing under section 38 of the Commons Act 2006. The application is determined by the Planning Inspectorate on behalf of the environment…
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Walkers’ champion honoured with bench
Some of David Bounds’ family and friends met on 30 April to unveil a bench in his honour on the hilltop footpath between Aston and Remenham. David, who died in October 2019, aged 87, was the author of the Rambling for Pleasure series of walking guides. David, who lived in Twyford, spent much of his…
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