The Open Spaces Society has unique expertise in the history and management of common land. It helps individuals and groups to ensure that their local common is properly cared for .1. Whether you are striding along one of the mountain ridges of the Carneddau in Gwynedd or strolling by the River Wye on Chippenham Mead, Monmouth's town green, you are walking on a precious part of Wales - its common land. Nine per cent of the Welsh land surface is common: it includes the vast uplands of the Brecon Beacons, the rocky coast of St David's Head in Pembrokeshire, the salt-marshes of Gower and many smaller fragments. 2. Owned either privately or publicly, commons are subject to rights held by other people - the commoners. These rights - of cutting peat, collecting firewood or, very importantly of grazing sheep - are usually attached to adjacent cottages and farms and can be vital to hill-farm economies. 3. Many commons have not been ploughed since time immemorial, and are therefore a haven for wildlife and archaeology. Their open character forms an important part of our landscape, and is enjoyed by those seeking space for quiet relaxation, exercise and fresh air. 4. In the past, hundreds of acres have been swallowed up by enclosure and encroachment. But under present law commons are still vulnerable to deregistration, development and neglect. We cannot afford further loss. Community action 5. So why not start the ball rolling and form a friends or management group to ensure your common is properly cared for? You can research its history, wildlife and archaeology; discuss management with owners, commoners and the community council; help carry out practical conservation work and campaign to ward off threats of development. 6. Across Wales, many groups are already showing the way. 7. The Meliden Civic Society in Denbighshire is campaigning to protect its local common from unlawful fencing. 8. In Flintshire, the Halkyn Common Graziers' and Commoners' Association has published an informative booklet on its common; and a Halkyn Common Management Committee has been set up to ensure proper management and protection. 9. The Eglwysilan and Mynydd Mayo Brinkers' Association has repaired boundary walls and improved access paths to its common land in Rhondda Cynon Taff. Nearby, Pentyrch Community Council has provided a small roadside car-park for visitors to Y Garth Common. 10. In Pembrokeshire, the Dowrog Common Management Committee oversees the management of the special wildlife habitats on this wetland site. The committee represent local councillors, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, commoners, the owner (National Trust), Countryside Council for Wales and Dyfed Wildlife Trust. 11. The National Trust has set up a liaison group for its Sugar Loaf Common within the Brecon Beacons National Park in Monmouthshire. Across the valley the Llanelly Hill and Blorenge Environmental Defence Committee has been warding off threats of a rubbish tip. 12. The Open Spaces Society, founded in 1865, is Britain's oldest national conservation body. It campaigns for the protection of commons, greens, other open spaces and public paths - whether in the countryside, town or city - and the rights of the public to enjoy them. Its members include individuals, local authorities, amenity groups and community councils. Send for details of membership and a publications list to the Open Spaces Society, 25a Bell Street, Henley-on-Thames, Oxon RG9 2BA, tel: 01491 573535.The Open Spaces Society is unable to accept liability for any misinterpretation of the law or any other error or omission in the advice in this paper. ŠOpen Spaces Society, 1996
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