We deplore green space ‘sop’
Our vice-president, the open spaces expert Paul Clayden, condemned the government’s Local Green Space designation as a sop to local people, and no substitute for village and town greens. He was addressing our annual general meeting in London on 8 July. Paul said: ‘The Local Green Space, introduced in the government’s National Planning Policy Framework…
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Delight at ruling against path closure at Maulden, Beds
We are delighted that a plan to close a footpath in Maulden, Central Bedfordshire has been rejected by an independent inspector following a public inquiry last month. Central Bedfordshire Council made an order to close Maulden footpath 28 which runs past the property Ein-Ty in Clophill Road. Because there were objections, from the Open Spaces…
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Luddesdown’s tribute to Pat Wilson
The Luddesdown Rights of Way Group has organised a finger-post in memory of the late Pat Wilson, our vice-president and local correspondent, pointing down the Bowling Alley at Luddesdown in Kent’s North Downs. In 1984 local people and national organisations, with Pat in the vanguard, defeated an attempt by the military to take over the…
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Defra’s figures for village greens show it has acted on dogma not evidence
Figures published today by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) do not show that there was a need to change the law on village greens. Last year the government passed the Growth and Infrastructure Act which outlaws the registration of land as a green where it is threatened with development, arguing that…
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We fear that government will privatise land of public importance
We are concerned that the government’s Infrastructure Bill could lead to the loss of publicly-important land. The bill, currently in the House of Lords, appears to allow ministers to transfer land of public value to the Homes and Communities Agency and other bodies, and thence to developers. We fear that this could not only be…
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Plan dropped for massive wind-turbines in Cumbrian beauty-spot
Banks Renewables has abandoned its plan to build three massive wind-turbines near Killington Reservoir in Cumbria (near junction 37 on the M6 motorway)—the gateway to the Lake District and the Western Fells of the Yorkshire Dales. The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, called in the application last March after South…
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Waverley Council to rethink future of Haslemere Common
We are delighted that Waverly Borough Council has decided to defer plans to refurbish Wey Hill Fairground common at Haslemere in Surrey. The land is currently used as a car-park. The council applied for consent for works on the common, under section 38 of the Commons Act 2006. We and many others, including the Haslemere…
Read MoreWe appoint new treasurer
We are delighted to announce the appointment of Steve Warr as Treasurer and Trustee of the Open Spaces Society. Steve is a Chartered Accountant who spent his career in the banking industry. He brings considerable experience of operating at Board level to the role of Treasurer. He lives in north Oxfordshire and has had an…
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Outdoor organisations call on MPs and peers to “champion outdoor recreation” for the good of the nation
Ten leading outdoor organisations are joining together in Westminster today (11 June) to urge parliamentarians to factor the benefits of outdoor recreation into their manifestos and policies ahead of the next general election. The event, organised by the British Mountaineering Council (BMC) and the All Party Parliamentary Group for Mountaineering, co-chaired by David Rutley MP…
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Residents of Westgate-on-Sea, Kent, win new green
Residents of Westgate-on-Sea, near Margate in Kent, have won a new village green, following four years of hard work and a public inquiry. The 2.44-acre field, consisting of rough grass with a wooded perimeter, has been enjoyed by local people for informal recreation since the end of the war. Sited north of Ursuline Drive, the…
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