Archive for June 2017
Lambeth Council’s plan threatens Clapham Common
Lambeth Council is proposing to give itself unprecedented powers to intensify and institutionalise the commercial exploitation of a flagship open space. By giving blanket approval for music festivals and other events to be held on the 35-hectare half of Clapham Common it owns, Lambeth Council will be driving a coach and horses through legislation, designed…
Read MoreCircuit of Wales racetrack abandoned: common land saved
We are relieved that, following the refusal of £210 million in backing from the Welsh Government, the Circuit of Wales motor-race track will apparently not now be built on a square mile of common land on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park. The Open Spaces Society, with the Brecon Beacons Park Society, British…
Read MoreShape of the nation
Our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, considers the effect of the increasing divergence between English and Welsh laws and practices. The 870-mile Wales Coast Path was the ambitious legacy of Rhodri Morgan, the former first minister of Wales who died in May. Now we can walk ‘the shape of the nation’; the path has brought pleasure…
Read MoreFootpath diversion during Henley regatta
This year, during Henley regatta, the Thames Path National Trail will be diverted around the Upper Thames enclosure south of Old Blades. The diversion is about 100 metres long and takes walkers away from the riverbank. This is official: the footpath, Remenham 4, has a limitation on the definitive statement allowing closure during the regatta.…
Read MoreFight against massive development in Chiltern Hills
We have objected to an application from West Waddy ADP to build up to 140 dwellings at Little Studdridge Farm, south of Stokenchurch in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The society is backing many local objectors including Stokenchurch and Ibstone Parish Councils, the Chilterns Conservation Board and the Chiltern Society. This constitutes…
Read MoreColan bridleway saved
We are delighted that Cornwall Council has rejected two planning application to station a total of 91 residential-park dwellings on land close to a public bridleway and common land, at Quintrell Downs, Colan, north Cornwall. The new residents would have been forced to drive along the bridleway to gain access to the A392 road to…
Read MoreWe call on Assembly Members to speak up for Wales’s designated landscapes
We have written to Welsh Assembly Members to urge them to speak in the Senedd debate on the review of Wales’s designated landscapes, the National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs). Members are to debate the report Future Landscapes, Delivering for Wales, on Tuesday 6 June. The society is concerned that the review…
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