Kent County Council restores public access to ancient site
Congratulations to Kent County Council, the access authority, for going to court to restore forbidden land to the public. The council took Mr John Button, owner of the historic Capel Battery on the clifftop at Capel-le-Ferne, near Folkestone, to the magistrates’ court, after he blocked off public access to the site. The land had been…
Read MoreNew coastal access starts this summer
We are delighted that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced that the first stretch of the England Coastal Path will be open this summer. The first section of route starts at Rufus Castle in Portland and will end at Lulworth Cove, both in Dorset, and covers 32km of coastline along…
Read MorePath campaigners relieved at new deal for ‘Poohsticks Path’
We are relieved that a development which threatened the footpath leading to the famous Poohsticks Bridge in Ashdown Forest is to be removed. Mr and Mrs Ben Van Praagh of Faircote Hall and stud, at Hartfield in East Sussex, had been given retrospective planning permission for a new riding arena which crossed the public footpath…
Read MoreAshton Vale green goes to High Court
We welcome the news that the High Court will review Bristol City Council’s decision to register only part of the 42-acre site at Ashton Vale, Bedminster, as a town or village green. The application for judicial review was made by the Save Ashton Vale Environment (SAVE) group. Bristol City Football Club wants to build a…
Read MoreOutdoor groups blast Stowe School’s golf course plans
We are challenging Stowe School’s golf course plan. With the Bucks, Milton Keynes and West Middlesex Ramblers, we have objected to the posh public school’s scheme to move its existing north Bucks golf course onto land crossed by public paths, and have submitted our objections to Aylesbury Vale District Council, the planning authority. The proposed…
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Crucial Henley greenspace
We have opposed plans by the Secretary of State for Transport to stop up a 26-metre width of public highway adjacent to 94-102 Bell Street in Henley-on-Thames. The proposed highway-closure is to enable Chesterton Commercial to construct parking spaces here. We were among the objectors to the plans for car parking on the green space,…
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Inland Revenue 1910 Finance Act Maps
The working maps drawn up by the Inland Revenue under the Finance Act 1910 were handed over to the Wiltshire Record Office in 1979 and are now in the custody of the Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre. The maps are typically consulted by the public for family and local history research and for evidence to…
Read MoreWe commemorate our path pioneer, Octavia Hill
The year 2012 marks the centenary of the death of Octavia Hill, an early activist of the Open Spaces Society. Octavia became involved in the society in about 1875 shortly after her unsuccessful campaign to buy the fields between Swiss Cottage and Hampstead in west London. She joined the committee of the society, urging it…
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Open Spaces Society becomes a company
On 1 January 2012 the Open Spaces Society gains company status, registered in England and Wales as a company limited by guarantee, number 7846516. This follows our special general meeting on 23 November where members voted unanimously that the society should become a company. The society will continue to be known as the Open Spaces…
Read MoreOSS responds to local government association’s attack on new village greens
We have responded robustly to an outburst from the Local Government Association today on new village greens. Says Kate Ashbrook, our general secretary: ‘The LGA has not produced hard evidence to back its allegation that people are applying for village green status in order to block development. ‘The LGA implies that this happens frequently. In…
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