We call on Assembly Members to speak up for Wales’s designated landscapes
We have written to Welsh Assembly Members to urge them to speak in the Senedd debate on the review of Wales’s designated landscapes, the National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs). Members are to debate the report Future Landscapes, Delivering for Wales, on Tuesday 6 June. The society is concerned that the review…
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Jubilee Field at Boddington is safe
The Friends of Jubilee Field have succeeded in getting a village meadow recorded as an Area of Community Value (ACV), and thus saved for local people to enjoy. The 3.5-acre field is at Upper Boddington, ten miles south-west of Daventry in Northamptonshire. HS2 will run along the south side of the village, putting local green…
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We fight plan to deregister part of Leigh Common, Wimborne
We have objected to plans by Gleeson Developments Ltd to strike part of Leigh Common, east Wimborne in Dorset, from the common-land register. The developers want to build an access-road across the common to serve a new housing development on land south of Leigh Road which crosses the common. It also wants to widen the…
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Our manifesto for the 2017 Westminster election
This time, because the political parties are focused on Brexit, we have tailored our manifesto to secure the best deal for public access and enjoyment. Public money for public access The Open Spaces Society is seeking a pledge in each party’s manifesto that, in the new funding scheme for agriculture, public money is spent on…
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New chance to rescue lost commons in Wales
On 5 May 2017, for the first time in 47 years, the public can claim ‘lost’ commons in Wales. The Welsh Government will bring into force legislation which ensures that any commons which failed to make it to final registration under the Commons Registration Act 1965 can now be rescued. We are delighted at this…
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Cumbrian commons face biggest threat since enclosure movement
Local and national organisations (1) are campaigning to stop the Ministry of Defence from destroying a vast area of Cumbria’s cultural history. The MoD wants to deregister three large upland commons (2) and turn them into private land. Objectors say the deregistration would be unlawful and flies in the face of undertakings made by the…
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We keep a close eye on ancient Broxbourne route
We are keeping a close eye on the fate of an ancient route which is next to a new development at Broxbourne School in Hertfordshire. We objected to the planning application because of its adverse effect on Hoddlesdon restricted byway 40, an ancient public right of way. Despite the many objections, Broxbourne School has been…
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Powys beauty-spot wind turbines rejected
Powys County Council’s Planning Committee has rejected plans for seven wind-turbines at Llandegley, five miles east of Llandrindod Wells, Powys. The society was among numerous objectors to the proposal. Geoff Sinclair of Environmental Information Services, spoke on behalf of 55 local objectors at the planning meeting on Thursday (27 April). The councillors, with only one…
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Footpath saved in Lincolnshire quarry plans
We are pleased that Breedon Aggregates have altered their plans to extend South Witham quarry in south Lincolnshire so as to preserve the route of a much-loved public footpath. The path runs between the villages of South Witham and Thistleton, and was on the edge of the quarry extension which was proposed last year. In…
Read MoreHousing White Paper—a lost opportunity to create new green space
We have criticised the Department for Communities and Local Government’s Housing White Paper* for threatening to undermine Local Green Space (LGS). The society believes that LGS should provide opportunities for public enjoyment and well-being. LGS was introduced in the National Planning Policy Framework in 2012, but government has never defined it nor prescribed a process…
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