Picket Mead Common to be dug up
We are disappointed that the Welsh ministers have agreed that Carrington Moore Estates can dig up Picket Mead Common at Newton, Swansea, in connection with planning permission for adjoining development. Carrington Moore Estates, in which the former Welsh rugby captain Andy Moore has an interest, want to bury underground services (electricity, gas, water, telecoms and…
Read MoreEnvironment body’s u-turn on Circuit of Wales development
Natural Resources Wales (NRW), the Welsh Government’s environmental advisory body, has done a u-turn on the ‘Circuit of Wales’ motor-racing centre at Ebbw Vale. NRW is no longer asking the government to call in the application which was granted outline consent by Blaenau Gwent Council last month. The development is on common land and abuts…
Read MoreMinisters are considering call-in for ‘Circuit of Wales’ development
The Welsh Government has issued a direction to prevent Blaenau Gwent Council from giving planning permission to the ‘Circuit of Wales’ motor-racing centre, while ministers decide whether to call the matter in. The council granted outline consent to the Heads of the Valleys Development Company last month. We were among the objectors who wrote to…
Read MoreGood outcome for Kingsmoor Common, Kilgetty
We are delighted that the Welsh Government has rejected an application from Pembrokeshire County Council to extinguish the common rights on 3.78 acres of Kingsmoor Common, Kilgetty.(1) The common is owned by the council. The council applied, under the Dyfed Act 1987, to remove the common rights from 1.89 acres to build a new retail…
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Four-mile fence to remain on common land in national park
We are dismayed that the Welsh Government has allowed the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority to retain a four-mile fence across open country in the heart of the national park. The fence was erected on common land as an emergency measure during the foot-and-mouth epidemic of 2001 and it should have been removed by 2006.…
Read MoreCommon-land issues make future of ‘Circuit of Wales’ uncertain
The Circuit of Wales plan still has a long way to go before it can proceed, because of the need to sort out common-land issues. The application, from the Heads of the Valleys Development Company, for a motor-racing centre was approved by Blaenau Gwent council yesterday (10 July). As a number of objectors pointed out,…
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Our challenge to Wales’s new environmental body
We have welcomed the new environmental body, Natural Resources Wales (NRW), which comes into existence today (1 April) and we have set it a number of challenges. The common land of Wales is immensely important for its natural beauty, wildlife habitats, archaeology, culture and opportunities for informal recreation. Eight per cent of Wales is common…
Read MoreWe blast motorsports development on common land
We objected strongly to a planning application for a major motor-racing development on registered common land. The so-called Circuit of Wales would be on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park, north of Ebbw Vale. The Heads of the Valleys Development Company wants to build a 3.5-mile long racetrack, 4×4 circuit, international kart track…
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‘Heavenly’ Carmarthenshire commons at risk from wind-development
We have objected to two applications from RES UK & Ireland Ltd for wind turbines and associated works on common land in Carmarthenshire. RES wants to erect 21 wind turbines, 15 of them on common land, with met masts, access tracks, hardstanding, highway widening and fencing. The commons are Mynydd Llanllwni Common and Mynydd Llanfighangel…
Read MoreDismay at Swansea Council’s yes to turbines on Mynydd y Gwair
Swansea Council’s planning committee has approved an application for 16 wind-turbines on Mynydd y Gwair common. We were one of the many objectors. The planning committee approved the scheme from RWE npower renewables by 27 votes to 24. We argued that the turbines will destroy the magnificent stretch of unspoilt common land, eight miles north…
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