Celebrating the CROW Act’s 20th birthday
Today, 30 November, we celebrate 20 years since the Countryside and Rights of Way (CROW) Act obtained royal assent. Part one of the Act was a great milestone in the history of the access movement, giving the public the right to walk responsibly on all registered common land and mapped mountain, moor, heath and down…
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Gifting paths and open spaces via a society membership subscription
Do you know someone who enjoys spending time in open spaces or exploring our amazing network of paths? Would you like to buy a gift in this pandemic year that shows how much we have all come to value our outdoors, now more than ever? Would you like to make an environmentally friendly and ethical…
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October update: Open Space Charters
This year people have enjoyed their local green spaces as never before. Now is the time to protect and expand them. In early August we wrote to every planning authority in England and Wales (nearly 400 of them), Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, and Julie James, the Welsh…
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Government’s demolition of the planning system
We have slated the government’s white paper, Planning for the Future. In our response to the government consultation, we have argued that the proposed reforms will put precious open spaces and paths at risk. The government proposes to divide the country into three planning zones: ‘growth’ (suitable for substantial development), ‘renewal’ (suitable for development) and…
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Remembering two friends
We have received generous legacies from two members who we belatedly heard had died. Our general secretary, with much supplementary information from their friends, remembers them with gratitude. Olive Entwistle, 1925-2017 The champion of Chorleywood Common in Hertfordshire, our life member Olive Entwistle, died in June 2017 aged 92. Olive was born in London…
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Landscapes Review – what next?
Shoulder to shoulder with other influential NGO organisations including Campaign for National Parks, National Trust, Ramblers, RSPB, Youth Hostels Association, CPRE, The Wildlife Trusts and the British Mountaineering Council, and now a year since the publication of the Landscapes Review, we have written to Rt Hon George Eustice MP, Secretary of State for the Environment,…
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We fight threat to Brent River Park, Ealing
We have objected to an application to erect a massive leisure centre with residential development and other proposals on the edge of Brent River Park in Ealing. The site is on the existing Gurnell Leisure Centre and the application has been submitted by Be:Here Ealing Ltd, which has connections with Ealing Council. We are concerned…
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A toothless watchdog?
Our case officer Nicola Hodgson is keeping a close watch on the Environment Bill. This was introduced to parliament on 30 January 2020 with second reading on 26 February. The public-bill committee’s scrutiny was cut short by the covid-19 crisis, and the committee was expected to report to parliament by the end of June, but…
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How to subscribe to our You Tube Channel
YouTube is a video sharing channel where users can watch, like, share, comment and upload their own and other people’s videos. It works in a similar way to other social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter in that respect. You Tube can be accessed on PCs, laptops, tablets and via mobile phones. We will…
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Ellen’s decade as the hub of our office
We are fortunate that Ellen Froggatt, who was planning to retire in early April, is still with us. She has generously agreed to carry on as office manager part-time until we can return to the office and appoint a replacement. Consequently, Ellen celebrated ten years with the society on 7 June. In her time with…
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