Court ruling gives green light to developers on open spaces
‘A black ruling for greens’, is how we responded to the judgment* in the Supreme Court yesterday (5 February) which gives a green light to developers who want to build on open spaces. The court ruled that village greens at Curtis Fields at Weymouth in Dorset and Clayton Fields at Kirklees, West Yorkshire, must be…
Read MoreDisused railway should be village green for Llanmorlais
The community of Llanmorlais, a small village seven miles west of Swansea, could see a strip of disused railway confirmed as their village green after a public inquiry in March. James Matthews, an Open Spaces Society member, has made the application after villagers completed evidence of their uninterrupted use of the land for 20 years.…
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Last chance to save Dorset village green
We are supporting our member the Society for the Protection of Markham and Little Francis at a hearing in the Supreme Court on Wednesday (15 January 2014). The local society will seek to persuade the court to uphold the registration of the village green on the outskirts of Weymouth, Dorset. This is the last chance…
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We fight commercial use of public open space in Dulwich
We have opposed a planning application for a commercial children’s day-nursery on Dulwich sports ground at Turney Road in Southwark. The application has been made by Southwark Community Sports Trust to provide revenue for the trust to maintain the sports ground. There are many local objectors including the Friends of Belair Park. We consider that…
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Open space at Longbenton, North Tyneside protected as village green
The Fusilier Field at Longbenton in North Tyneside has been registered as a village green, and can be enjoyed by local people for ever more. The application to register was made to North Tyneside Council by Christine Kay and Alasdair & Dorothy Wilson with support from the Fusilier Field Action Group, a member of the…
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Our Caerphilly activist wins Environmental Champion Award
Maggie Thomas, our local correspondent for Caerphilly, has won the Environmental Champion prize in Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Pride in your Place award, for her work in defending public paths and open spaces. Maggie, who lives in Crosskeys, is also membership secretary for Islwyn Ramblers. Says Maggie: ‘I was thrilled to receive this award on…
Read MorePlan to desecrate Hammersmith Park
We have objected to plans by Playfootball Ltd to build football pitches with a pavilion and car park on Hammersmith Park in west London. Playfootball has submitted a planning application to the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Council. We are concerned that the development will take more than one-third of the public park which…
Read MoreWe fight devastation of Swansea commons
We have sent a strong objection to plans to build 16 wind turbines with associated infrastructure on Mynydd y Gwair and adjoining commons, eight miles north of Swansea. RWE npower renewables has planning permission for the development but, because it is to be sited on registered common land, the developer needs the additional consent of…
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Government’s miserable lack of progress on green-space promise
Wildlife and Countryside Link’s Nature Check report, signed by 41 organisations, shows a miserable lack of progress on implementing the promised Local Green Space (LGS) designation. Nature Check analyses the government’s 25 commitments on the natural environment against a traffic-light system. It reveals that nine are red, 12 are amber and only four are green.…
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Presentation to winners of OS Award 2013
Our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, was delighted to visit Widmer Fields in Buckinghamshire recently to present our Open Space Award 2013 to Grange Area Trust for their campaigning work to save the fields which have been threatened many times with development. The Trust, which was established with the aim of conserving the 16-hectare fields as…
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