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…
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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Our new book to celebrate village greens
We have published a new book, Village Greens, to celebrate the fascinating village greens of England and Wales. It is written by our chairman, Graham Bathe. The book appears at a time when our green spaces have never been more threatened—by development, sale by local authorities, commercial abuse, neglect and lack of funding. Yet paradoxically…
Read MoreWe renew call for use of Local Green Space designation
We have called on the government to clarify the opportunities to win Local Green Space (LGS), and once again urged local authorities and communities to make use of the designation. The society has responded to a consultation from the Department for Communities and Local Government on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework of March…
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Multi-million pound Firle Footpath ploughed up for the third time
For the third time, the Firle Estate has ploughed up a path that it gets a huge subsidy to keep open, despite promises to the Open Spaces Society given three months ago that it would be opened. The path, which runs south from the Barley Mow Pub at Selmeston, is one of the reasons that…
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Bridgend open spaces in peril
We have objected strongly to a string of planning applications from the housing association Valleys to Coast. These proposals threaten to destroy many open spaces around Bridgend, for example at Cefn Glas, Cefn Cribwr and North Connelly. For instance, within the estate at Cefn Glas, Valleys to Coast intends to eliminate the existing, well-established open…
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Ministers’ neglect threatens vital common land
We are calling on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and on the Welsh Government to finish the job on common land. Ten years ago the Commons Act 2006 provided for accurate and up-to-date registers of commons and commons councils to manage the commons. But the Act has not yet been fully brought…
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Our 150th anniversary year
We have had plenty of activities to celebrate our 150th anniversary year, as Britain’s oldest national conservation body. Here are some highlights. Every day we have celebrated an event in our long history with our Tweet of the Day. These are listed here. We published two books, Saving Open Spaces and Common Land. A third, Village…
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Multi million pound Firle footpath ploughed up again
Yet again, the Firle Estate has ploughed up a path for which it gets a huge subsidy to keep open. The path, which runs south from the Barley Mow Pub at Selmeston, is one of the reasons that the Firle estate gets millions of pounds worth of Inheritance Tax relief. Until the Open Spaces Society…
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