Space invaders
Public funding is being cut and our green spaces exploited to fill the gap. Our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, considers the threat to our open spaces and national parks. In London, communities fight motor racing in Battersea Park, and festivals on Acton Green, Clapham Common and Finsbury Park—among countless battles. But we have a new…
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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…
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Learning to find our way
The society has established the Find Our Way fund, to support those who are investigating unrecorded historic ways with a view to applying for them to be added to the definitive maps of public rights of way. This work is now urgent, as applications must be made before 1 January 2026 or the routes could…
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Public footpath must be protected during Henley Regatta
We are anxious that Henley footpath 14, on the west bank of the River Thames, should remain undisturbed during the Regatta. The society has responded to the Regatta’s application for a licence to use the area for entertainment and to control entry. The area which is included in the licence takes in the route of…
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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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Commons in a ‘glocal’ world
This was the title of the conference which our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, attended in Bern, Switzerland, in May. It was organised by the International Association for the Study of the Commons (IASC) and Bern University, to discuss commons at a European level. Kate tells the story. We should start with some definitions. ‘Glocal’ means…
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Henley-on-Thames welcomes walkers
Henley-on-Thames Town Council in Oxfordshire is holding a public meeting to assess the public support for Henley to become a Walkers Are Welcome Town. The Walkers Are Welcome Towns Network is a community-led scheme celebrating towns throughout England, Scotland and Wales which have something special to offer walkers. Our general secretary Kate Ashbrook, who is…
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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Damaging New Forest development is rejected
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has said no to an ugly solar ‘farm’ in the New Forest National Park. Greg Clark has dismissed an appeal from MTS Exbury Solar Ltd against refusal of planning permission by the New Forest National Park Authority. The application was for a solar farm on nine…
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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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