Essex seafront open space saved for public enjoyment

Essex County Council has registered an open space at Brighton Road, Holland-on-Sea near Clacton-on-Sea as a town green. The application for green status was made by Mrs Sharon Bennett, a member of the society, in 2009 on the grounds that local people had used the land for informal recreation, without asking permission or being stopped,…

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Disappointing fencing decision for Hednesford Hills

We are disappointed that the Secretary of State for Environment has approved an application for fencing on Hednesford Hills Common on the north-east side of Cannock in Staffordshire. We objected to this application, along with the British Horse Society and individuals. Cannock Chase Council applied to erect permanent stockproof fencing around two areas of the…

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South West commons conference

The biennial conference of the South West Uplands Federation is being held at Exeter Racecourse on Friday 19 October 2012, hosted by the Dartmoor Preservation Association. The conference will focus on the grazed commons of Bodmin, Exmoor and Dartmoor, the day-to-day practicalities of commons management and the implications of CAP reform and other policy changes.…

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Manège would suburbanise South Downs countryside

We have objected to a planning application for a manège at Sparkes Farm next to Ebernoe Common, three miles north of Petworth in West Sussex. The development comes hot on the heels of other planning applications at this site, for a stable complex and barn. The application is in the South Downs National Park and…

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Government’s rural statement underplays vital role of paths and spaces

Ibstone Common, Buckinghamshire

‘The government should invest in public paths and green spaces to achieve its aim of improving the rural economy,’ says our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook commenting on the government’s Rural Statement published today (12 September).  ‘By underplaying the role of these vital assets government misses a massive trick.’ ‘There is a brief mention in the…

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Common ground not battleground

Article published on Headline Environment website, On the Agenda, 11 September 2012   Commons are unique and precious places to be treasured by all, says Kate Ashbrook, of the Open Spaces Society, as she welcomes the publication of a revised version of A Common Purpose. Kate Ashbrook writes: Common land has for centuries been a…

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Lambeth Council rejects Sky One TV’s domes on Clapham Common

Lambeth’s planning committee last night (11 September) rejected the application for a domed development on Clapham Common for Sky One TV’s ‘Got to Dance’.  The domes were erected before the planning application was even considered by Lambeth Council.  The councillors’ rejection was contrary to the officers’ recommendation of approval. The domes, with fencing, portacabins and…

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Plan to move footpaths at Helmshore School

We have objected to plans from Lancashire County Council to move newly-claimed footpaths which cross an open field at Helmshore School, Haslingden.  The paths were claimed by the Helmshore Community Action Group, members of the Open Spaces Society, and added to the official path-map last November. The routes have been illegally blocked by fencing and…

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Go-ahead for development beside Swansea common

We are disappointed that Carrington Moore Estates, in which the former Welsh rugby captain Andy Moore has an interest, has obtained planning consent for development adjoining Picket Mead Common at Newton, Swansea. The battle has raged over many years, but finally Carrington won its appeal to Welsh Ministers against Swansea Council’s refusal of planning consent. The…

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Objectionable developments on Clapham Common

We have objected to plans to use part of Clapham Common, Lambeth, for filming Sky One’s ‘Got to Dance’.  The society was founded in 1865 initially to protect the London commons from development, and we consider that this current proposal needs special common-land consent as well as planning permission.  We are particularly angry that the development…

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