Court of Appeal judgment threatens village greens
We are disappointed that the Court of Appeal today upheld a decision of the High Court (23 November 2010) on Markham and Little Francis village green at Weymouth in Dorset. Read the judgment here. The judges determined that the land was wrongly registered as a green. It will be removed from the register, leaving it…
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Anne Wilks, 1918-2012
We are sad to report that our vice-president Anne Wilks has died aged 93. Anne lived for most of her life in Kent and was a tireless campaigner for commons, greens and public paths. She moved to Kent in 1924 and lived in Seasalter, Whitstable and finally Gravesend. Anne claimed countless paths for the official…
Read MoreDevelopment on West Sussex Common
We have objected to a planning application on Horsebridge Common, Ashurst, near Steyning in West Sussex. The application is to convert garages into a cookery-school and tea-room, but the building is on registered common land, which means it is unlawful. Works on common land need the consent of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food…
Read MoreWe call for reinstatement of Booker Common
We have objected to two applications to Wycombe District Council which affect registered common land at Willow Avenue, Booker, near High Wycombe in Bucks. The applications are for retrospective consent for a two-metre high fence and a certificate of lawfulness for use of land as a garden. The society has objected because the ‘garden’ is…
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Southborough Common is a jewel
‘Southborough Common is a jewel’, says Kate Ashbrook, our general secretary. Kate visited the Kent common on 8 February and then spoke at a public meeting organised by Kent High Weald Partnership which is consulting local interests on the future of the common. ‘Common land is immensely special,’ says Kate. No other land type has…
Read MoreLinking the Lakes and Dales National Parks
We have joined a consortium with the Campaign for National Parks, Campaign to Protect Rural England, Friends of the Lake District and many others in support of plans to extend the boundaries of the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks. This will ensure that the magnificent countryside, much of it common land, between the…
Read MoreDevelopment on scenic Surrey common
We are dismayed that the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has granted Southern Gas Networks permission for a gas installation on Broad Street and Rydes Hill Commons, near Guildford in Surrey. Southern Gas applied to the environment secretary in 2008 to place a gas installation on the common, replacing an existing…
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The campaign to save the view from Richmond Hill
We have joined campaigners fighting to save the magnificent view from Richmond Hill. This view is threatened by a high-rise residential block as part of the redevelopment of Twickenham station. The objectors include the Twickenham Residents’ Action Group, TRAG. Richmond Council has accepted a proposal from Network Rail and Solum Regeneration for this development. The…
Read MoreWe commemorate our path pioneer, Octavia Hill
The year 2012 marks the centenary of the death of Octavia Hill, an early activist of the Open Spaces Society. Octavia became involved in the society in about 1875 shortly after her unsuccessful campaign to buy the fields between Swiss Cottage and Hampstead in west London. She joined the committee of the society, urging it…
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Open Spaces Society becomes a company
On 1 January 2012 the Open Spaces Society gains company status, registered in England and Wales as a company limited by guarantee, number 7846516. This follows our special general meeting on 23 November where members voted unanimously that the society should become a company. The society will continue to be known as the Open Spaces…
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