Think again West Sussex!
Countryside organizations have today welcomed the recommendation that West Sussex County Council should reconsider its position on rights of way in the South Downs National Park. The recommendation was made by the County Council’s environment committee which said they felt the South Downs Society, the Access Forum, parish councils and other county councils should be…
Read MorePressure for call-in for Davidstow wind-turbines
We have written to the Government Office for the South West urging the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to call in the planning application for 20 wind-turbines at Davidstow Wood, near Camelford in Cornwall. Cornwall Council’s planning committee approved the turbines, against its officers’ advice, last October. However, the Government Office for…
Read MoreCentenary of ‘landmark law’
This year marks the centenary of the Finance Act 1910, a landmark law which has proved valuable in claiming routes as public paths for the definitive (official) map of rights of way in England and Wales. David Lloyd George’s Finance Act 1910 introduced a tax on land, but landowners could apply for a reduction in…
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Beauty-spot blot
We have objected to a retrospective planning application for a high, galvanised-steel ‘gate’ at Turville, Bucks, on a hilltop in the heart of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Michael and Carol Clare of Turville Court, part of a 22 million-pound estate, erected a green metal structure, nearly three metres high and five metres…
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Village Greens review is unnecessary and premature
‘The proposed review of the process for registering new town and village greens is unnecessary and premature.’ This is our response the recently-announced review by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).(1) Says our case officer, Nicola Hodgson: ‘The current process for registering land as greens in England only took effect in April…
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We slate Thanet’s plan to sell beauty spot
We have objected strongly to plans by Thanet District Council to sell its land below Ramsgate’s West Cliff in Kent. Thanet Council has consulted local people about this and we are backing the objection by our member, Pegwell and District Association, and many individuals. This lovely area of wild greenspace, at the far end of…
Read MoreSixty years on, path protectors challenge councils to ‘put themselves on the map’
Councils across England and Wales are today challenged to ‘put themselves on the map’, by the Ramblers and Open Spaces Society, on the 60th Anniversary of royal assent of the Act which the created official maps of public paths (the definitive map). The visionary 1949 National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act, passed 60…
Read MoreFight against blot on Bowland
We are fighting to stop the erection of 20 wind-turbines on common land in the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Lancashire. The site is Claughton Moor and Whit Moor, seven miles north-east of Lancaster. The society has objected to a planning application from Community Windpower Ltd, and to an application for…
Read MoreGreen ruling for Burton’s Wood
A hectare of land known as Burton’s Wood, at Burton’s Lane, Little Chalfont in Buckinghamshire, has been registered as a village green. Says our case officer Nicola Hodgson: ‘This is a wonderful outcome. Buckinghamshire County Council’s Rights of Way Committee followed the recommendations of the Head of Planning, Environment and Development, and Head of Legal…
Read MoreAn evening of adventure
The Campaign for National Parks (CNP) is holding a one-off event at the Royal Geographical Society in London on 31 March 2010 at 7pm, when mountaineer Sir Chris Bonington and adventurer Ben Fogle will discuss with Libby Purves ‘What makes an adventurer?’ Click here for more details and to book tickets. All proceeds go to…
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