New bill threatens public’s rights to open spaces and paths
We are alarmed that the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill, which is to have its second reading in the House of Commons on Monday (10 June), could make trespass a criminal offence in public places in England. The Bill will enable a local authority to make a Public Spaces Protection Order on a public…
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International accolade for OSS
We have won a prestigious international award for our work on common land. Our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, will receive the first-ever Elinor Ostrom Award at a global conference in Japan next month. The award was established by 15 institutions in memory of the renowned academic expert on commons, Elinor Ostrom of Indiana University, who…
Read MoreThree projects short-listed for national Open Space Award
Three community-based projects, in Bucks, Newcastle upon Tyne and Surrey, have been short-listed for the Open Spaces Society’sprestigious Open Space Award. The Grange Area Trust has saved Widmer Fields at Widmer End, Hazlemere, near High Wycombe in Bucks from development. The trust, which was established with the aim of conserving the 16-hectare site as a…
Read More‘Greenest government ever’ stamps on village greens
The self-styled ‘greenest government ever’ has passed a law which will prevent communities from claiming their local open spaces as village greens and thus saving them from development. Yesterday (25 April) the Growth and Infrastructure Act received royal assent, banning applications to register land as a green in England if it has been identified for…
Read MoreThe Growth and Infrastructure Act – the effect on greens
On 25 April the Growth and Infrastructure Bill received royal assent and is now the Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013. Despite all our efforts, the provisions relating to town and village greens were not amended. The Bill was guillotined when it returned to the House of Commons and MPs did not even get the opportunity to…
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The greens law has changed
The Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013 has now received royal assent. This means that, in England, it is no longer possible to apply to register land as a village green if it has been earmarked for development. However applications which have already been submitted will be processed. Before applying to register land as a green…
Read MoreGrowth & Infrastructure Bill update
On Tuesday 16 April the House of Commons will debate the amendments which the Lords have made to the Growth and Infrastructure Bill. There are two which concern us—and they ought to concern MPs because they were promoted by the government at a very late stage. They could have been included in the Bill from…
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Our challenge to Wales’s new environmental body
We have welcomed the new environmental body, Natural Resources Wales (NRW), which comes into existence today (1 April) and we have set it a number of challenges. The common land of Wales is immensely important for its natural beauty, wildlife habitats, archaeology, culture and opportunities for informal recreation. Eight per cent of Wales is common…
Read MoreGreen status won for Launceston open space
A threatened open space adjoining Woburn Road, on the south side of Launceston, Cornwall, has been registered as a village green, following a public inquiry last February. The application was made by Mr Philip Wagstaff on behalf of the Woburn Residents’ Association. We helped the association with its claim and are delighted with the result.…
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West Beach IS a village green!
The Court of Appeal has upheld the rights of local people to access Newhaven’s sandy West Beach in its judgement handed down today. The three judges who sat at the Royal Courts of Justice in London for three days at the end of March have upheld the appeal of East Sussex County Council and Newhaven…
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