Welsh Committee calls for better protection for village greens in Planning Bill
We are delighted that a National Assembly for Wales Committee is calling for better protection of village greens. The report of the Environment and Sustainability Committee, which is scrutinising the Planning (Wales) Bill, states that ‘the provisions of the Bill in relation to town and village greens, as currently drafted, have caused us some concern’.…
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Common landscapes
Today a taskgroup of 27 organisations launches its report Landscapes for Everyone (see below) in parliament, calling on politicians to champion our unique British landscapes. We shall be there. Our special message is that we must look after the 2,212 square miles of common land in England and Wales. Do this and we secure a…
Read MoreThomas Hardy would breathe a sigh of relief
We are delighted that Kingston Maurward College has withdrawn its plans to build 70 houses on parkland at Thomas Hardy’s hamlet of Lower Bockhampton, Dorset. Hardy was born at nearby Higher Bockhampton in 1840. The society was among hundreds of objectors to the development, including the Ramblers, the Thomas Hardy Society and the Lower Bockhampton…
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Pressure groups fight fencing plan in Lake District’s wilderness
We are backing our member the Friends of the Lake District in fighting a plan by United Utilities to erect fencing on common land in the heart of the Lake District National Park. United Utilities has applied to erect nearly ten kilometres of new fencing at the South Western end of Thirlmere, enclosing 866 hectares…
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New call for Thames Path riverside route
We have objected to a planning application from Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council to create a short footpath along Ray Mead Road, Maidenhead, instead of a riverside route for the Thames Path National Trail. The council has applied to create a footway along Ray Mead Road, extending an existing footpath by about 17 metres with…
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Footpath in Godstone, Surrey, has been saved
A planning inspector has ruled that a footpath at Godstone, Surrey, will not be moved. The footpath, Godstone 140B, runs from Harts Lane north-east to the A22 Eastbourne Road, close to Harts Lane Cottage. The owner of the cottage wished to divert the route so that instead it avoided the cottage and joined Harts Lane…
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We fight solar farm in New Forest National Park
MTS Exbury Solar Ltd has applied to build a solar farm on nine hectares of land east of Lepe Farm, Exbury in the New Forest National Park. We have objected and urged the national park authority to reject the application. We consider that such a development is inappropriate in a national park, which is our…
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Our 150th birthday
This year, 2015, we celebrate our 150th anniversary—the first national conservation body to do so. Founded on 19 July 1865 as the Commons Preservation Society we first saved London commons from destruction and 30 years later created the National Trust—and we are still fighting. Now the society campaigns throughout England and Wales to protect common…
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Dismay at decision to keep Cornish rail-crossing closed
A public-inquiry inspector has ruled that the footpath across the railway line near Penzance in Cornwall is to remain closed. The society backed its member, the Friends of Long Rock Mexico Crossing (FOLRMC), the Ramblers and other objectors to the proposed closure of the crossing at the Mexico Inn, Long Rock, Penzance. The case was…
Read MoreLandscapes for everyone
Great Britain’s diverse landscapes need champions. A consortium of national organisations has taken up the challenge. We have a shared vision of why our unique British landscapes should be protected for the benefit of current and future generations and what Government action is needed. Read more here. The official launch of ‘Landscapes for everyone’ will…
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