Englefield Green village green is saved
We are celebrating the decision by Helen Slade of the Planning Inspectorate, on behalf of the environment secretary, to refuse consent for works on Englefield Green village green in Surrey. The land is widely used by local people, and the inspector confirmed that the public have the right to enjoy the green for air and…
Read MoreBeechcroft Manor open space saved from development
We are delighted that land at Beechcroft Manor, Weybridge in Surrey, has been saved. The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government rejected the planning appeal by Linthaven Ltd, following a public inquiry last February. Linthaven appealed against Elmbridge Borough Council’s refusal to give consent for a block of three houses, with access drive…
Read MorePath claimed at Brook, Surrey
A public footpath will be added to the official map of rights of way, thanks to the efforts of our local correspondent, Ralph Holmes. Ralph, who covers Waverley Borough in Surrey claimed a footpath on the Rockwood Estate, Brook, near Witley. The path runs from near West Lodge on Haslemere Road (the A286) to Parsonage…
Read MoreHigh Court win for Warneford Meadow campaigners
A High Court judge has ruled that the 20-acre Warneford Meadow in east Oxford can be registered as a town green. Judge Waksman QC rejected the application for judicial review from the landowner, the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health NHS Trust. The trust challenged Oxfordshire County Council’s decision in April 2009 to register the land…
Read MoreThe loss of Petticoat Lane
We are dismayed that Petticoat Lane in Newport, Isle of Wight, will be destroyed by Sainsbury’s development. The society backed local objectors in their campaign to save the path. The Isle of Wight Council endorsed the path-change and a public inquiry was held in January. The public inquiry inspector, Peter Millman, has ruled that the…
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Norfolk gets results with enforcement on public paths
We have praised Norfolk County Council for taking enforcement action on public paths in the county. Last year the council served a notice on the landowner who had illegally blocked the public footpath which runs alongside Little Hautbois Hall, the £1.8-million Tudor mansion in the parish of Buxton with Lammas. The landowner gave in and…
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Oppressive fence to go
South Oxfordshire District Council has refused retrospective planning permission to a close-boarded fence, nearly two metres high, alongside the public footpath at Deanacre, off Deanfield Road in Henley-on-Thames. Mr Philip Turner, of 2 Deanacre applied to the council to legitimise the fence which was erected unlawfully, without planning permission, last year. It replaced a lower,…
Read MoreLong Green Common, Suffolk, saved from suburbanisation
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has rejected an application for a driveway across Long Green and Spears Hill Common, at Wortham in Suffolk. Mrs KMP Smith, the owner of Deo Gratias which adjoins the common, had applied, under section 38 of the Commons Act 2006, for consent to construct an…
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Bad dreams for bed magnate
Michael Clare, founder of the Bed emporium ‘Dreams’, and his wife Carol must remove a high, galvanised-steel ‘gate’ which they erected without planning permission on their £22-million estate, Turville Court. They then sought retrospective consent from Wycombe District Council, which has been refused. The matter is now in the hands of the council’s enforcement officer.…
Read MoreBattle to save West Durrington Greenspace
We are backing local campaigners in their fight to save ancient woodlands from development, at Titnore Lane, West Durrington near Worthing in West Sussex. We have written to Paul Yallop, leader of Worthing Borough Council, and James Appleton, head of planning, urging them to reject the plans for 1,250 houses and other buildings there. The…
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