Government plans could make innocent trespassers into criminals
The government’s proposals to strengthen police powers against trespass could make criminals of innocent people visiting the countryside. We have expressed this fear in our response to the Home Office consultation on the criminalisation of trespass in England and Wales. The Conservative manifesto declared ‘We will make intentional trespass a criminal offence.’ Before this, the…
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Open Spaces Society to advise Welsh Access Reform Group
The Welsh Government is looking at the future of access in Wales, following the consultation in 2017 and the subsequent announcement that it would set up an Access Reform Group. It has also established three expert groups to inform the Access Reform Group and invited expressions of interest. We are delighted to report that the…
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Paul Clayden, 5 November 1941 – 1 January 2020
We are very sad to report that our vice-president, Paul Clayden, died suddenly aged 78 on new year’s day. A former general secretary of the society (1976-84) he was the author of many of our books and information sheets, and a kind and helpful adviser to members on their open space issues. Paul was born…
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Is your DMMO application eligible for a BHS grant?
Are you engaged in researching historical ways to add to the definitive map before the 2026 cut-off date? The British Horse Society (BHS) is offering expenses of £100 to anyone who applies to a local authority to record a bridleway, restricted byway or byway open to all traffic — or to upgrade a footpath or…
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We back campaign for access to water
The society is backing the Clear Access, Clear Waters campaign by British Canoeing, to increase the public’s opportunities to gain access to water. The campaign aligns with the society’s objectives of promoting public enjoyment of rivers, canals and lakes, whether in or on the water or providing access to it. British Canoeing is campaigning for…
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Our general secretary wins bronze award
Our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, has won bronze in The Great Outdoors magazine’s Campaigner of the Year Award, following a vote from members of the public. Described by one voter as ‘inspirational in her constant drive to keep footpaths open’, Kate came third to environmental campaigners Greta Thunberg and Chris Packham. Says Kate: ‘I am…
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Missed opportunity to protect open spaces in Wales
We have responded to the Welsh government’s consultation on its National Development Framework (NDF) and raised concerns about the impact on the landscape and tourism, and the missed opportunities for protecting open space. The NDF is a new development plan which will set the direction for development in Wales from 2020 to 2040. It contains…
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The Ethical Gift
Would you like to find a present for outdoorsy friends or family with a conscience? Ethical and environmentally friendly gifts are increasingly popular and rightly so. The Open Spaces Society is a small charity that fights to conserve and promote our environment by seeking protection for paths and open spaces, so that everyone can enjoy…
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Our case officer Nicola Hodgson celebrates 20 years with Open Spaces Society
In 1999, solicitor Nicola Hodgson was instructed by Sunningwell Parish Council, in Oxfordshire, to register a piece of land as a village green – thereby preventing two new houses being built on the site which had, for decades, been popular with families and dog walkers. The case went to the House of Lords, resulting in…
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Welsh government must ensure new payments to farmers lead to better public access
We have called on the Welsh government to ensure that the payment of public money under the new Sustainable Land Management scheme will benefit the public who wish to gain access to Wales’s farmed land. The society has responded to the Welsh government’s consultation paper Sustainable Farming and our Land. The society wishes to see…
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