Abbey Road Open Space at Steyning is a village green
West Sussex County Council has agreed to register four and a half acres of open space at Abbey Road, Steyning, as a village green. The Friends of Abbey Road Open Space applied to register the land as a green on 23 July 2015, on the grounds that local people had used the land for 20…
Read MoreThreat to Clerkenwell Green, Islington
We have objected to Islington Council’s plans to mutilate Clerkenwell Green, by replacing the historic, underground, public conveniences with a café. The open space has traditionally been used for public assemblies. The toilets, designed by George Jennings, are of considerable historic interest. The Open Spaces Society was founded 151 years ago initially to fight for…
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Moorside Fields, Lancaster are a village green
The High Court has ruled that Moorside Fields in south Lancaster are a village green. This means that they will be protected from development and can be enjoyed by the community by right for informal recreation. Local resident Janine Bebbington, acting for the Moorside Fields Community Group, applied to register five fields as a green…
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Better access to Ford Common, Dorset
We have helped to achieve an excellent outcome from SITA UK’s plans to extend its Binnegar Quarry, close to Puddletown Road three miles west of Wareham in Dorset. Because the development would affect Ford Common, owned by SITA, the company had to offer land in exchange for the common land it wished to quarry. SITA…
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Battersea Park rescued from permanent motor-race circuit
We are delighted that the Formula E motor-race championship, which was approved by Wandsworth Council and set to continue every year in Battersea Park, will now only take place in 2016 with full reinstatement afterwards. James Jackson, whose judicial review of Wandsworth’s decision was due to be heard in court this week, has reached an…
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The Fight For Beauty
In her newly-published book, The Fight for Beauty, Dame Fiona Reynolds, writes about the things that really make life worth living – a vision for our environment, our society and our future. Dame Fiona, a former Director-General of the National Trust, offers a path to a better future for us all. Her book can be…
Read MoreOur new Case Officer
We are delighted to welcome Hugh Craddock as our new Case Officer. Hugh will work alongside our present Case Officer, Nicola Hodgson, assisting members of the society on technical, legal and practical issues regarding commons, greens, open spaces and public paths. Hugh formerly worked for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and…
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We launch our 12-point action plan for the new National Assembly for Wales
We have unveiled our 12-point action plan for the new National Assembly for Wales. We call on election candidates to lobby for a better deal for green spaces and public paths. Our Action Plan for Wales chimes with the seven principles in the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. Open spaces and paths are…
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We fight plan to sacrifice ancient Hertfordshire route
We are fighting plans to move an ancient route to make way for development at Broxbourne School in Hertfordshire. Broxbourne School plans to demolish the old school and build a new academy, with 150 houses on the former school site. As part of the development it wants to divert the route of an old road,…
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We become common rightholder in Norfolk
We have become the proud owner of a right of common on land known as St Clement’s Common at Rushall near Diss in Norfolk. The society’s right is of ‘estovers’, ie to collect furze and bracken. The right was originally granted by the late landowner, Daphne Buxton, to a local member of the society, Maurice…
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