Fifty years since the start of commons registration
Fifty years ago today, on 2 January 1967, the commons and greens registers in England and Wales were opened, writes Kate Ashbrook. This was the start of a period of feverish activity for the Commons, Open Spaces and Footpaths Preservation Society, as we were then known. The registers were created following the Commons Registration Act…
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Our case officer’s diary
Our case officer Nicola Hodgson gives a snapshot of her work for the society, both in and out of the office. As case officer for commons, greens and open spaces over the last 17 years I have experienced a huge volume and variety of issues and shared some of the frustrations, challenges and successes of…
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Access means Access
Whatever we may feel about leaving the EU it does provide a chance to rethink our agricultural-support systems, and to devise a scheme which favours public access, writes our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook. Lord Gardiner, in his reply to our letter to the Prime Minister, said: ‘We will be looking to develop a new approach…
Read MoreA fair way to challenge planning decisions that damage our environment and living conditions
As part of the Wildlife & Countryside Link (Link) Legal Group, we are supporting Louise Venn in her court case which seeks to close a legal loophole that is preventing Aarhus cost caps being applied to statutory review challenges in England and Wales. This loophole leaves most national planning decisions immune from affordable challenge and,…
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Get in ahead of the Deregulation Act
The Deregulation Act is likely to come into force in England in the next few months. When you apply for the addition of a path to the definitive map, the surveying authority is required to determine your application within 12 months. If it has not done so, you can apply to the Secretary of State…
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Happy centenary to vice-president Len!
Our vice-president Len Clark is 100 today, 19 August. Our general secretary has written a blog in celebration and we have reproduced it below. Every blog I have so far written to celebrate a friend’s centenary has been posthumous. This one is different. Len Clark, loved and admired by the amenity movement, is 100 today—and…
Read MoreThreat to public paths in the Rochdale area
Our newly-appointed local correspondent for Rochdale, Yvonne Hunt, looks at the threat to public paths in her area, including the Rochdale Way. The Rochdale Way and parts of its connecting network of paths are under threat by developers who do not seem to understand their importance. The Rochdale Way is a circular 45-mile (72-km)…
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Space invaders
Public funding is being cut and our green spaces exploited to fill the gap. Our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, considers the threat to our open spaces and national parks. In London, communities fight motor racing in Battersea Park, and festivals on Acton Green, Clapham Common and Finsbury Park—among countless battles. But we have a new…
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Learning to find our way
The society has established the Find Our Way fund, to support those who are investigating unrecorded historic ways with a view to applying for them to be added to the definitive maps of public rights of way. This work is now urgent, as applications must be made before 1 January 2026 or the routes could…
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Commons in a ‘glocal’ world
This was the title of the conference which our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, attended in Bern, Switzerland, in May. It was organised by the International Association for the Study of the Commons (IASC) and Bern University, to discuss commons at a European level. Kate tells the story. We should start with some definitions. ‘Glocal’ means…
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