We fight degradation of Naphill Common, Bucks

We have objected to a planning application adjacent to Naphill Common in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The proposal is to erect three houses in place of one at Heatherlands on Downley Road. Naphill is about three miles north-west of High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire. This application replaces a similar one which was submitted…

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Buxton footpath in Norfolk open at last

We are pleased that Norfolk County Council has belatedly replaced unlawful stiles with gates on Buxton with Lamas footpath 4, three miles south east of Aylsham. The stiles were in appalling condition and difficult to negotiate, and they had not been authorised on this public path (under section 147 of the Highways Act 1980)(1). The…

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Government’s planning charter fails to protect open spaces

We are dismayed that the revised Natural Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which was published on 24 July, gives no additional protection to open spaces, beyond a tiny improvement in wording. The society had objected in the draft to the restrictive wording accompanying the designation of land as local green space (LGS).  The draft stated that…

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Welsh access on hold

Last year we responded to a consultation from the Welsh Government, Taking forward Wales’s sustainable management of natural resources. Chapter 4 was about access to the outdoors. We welcomed its proposal for extended access to coast and cliff, riverbanks and lakesides, an all-Wales digital map of access, and the repeal of the 2026 closure of…

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Common-land swap at Gorseinon, Swansea

We are disappointed that Welsh Ministers have approved plans by Persimmon Homes to swap an area of Mynydd Garngoch Common at Gorseinon, north-west of Swansea. Persimmon has been permitted to strike 0.71 hectares of common land from the register and use it for development, replacing it with 0.81 hectares of land which the Open Spaces…

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We criticise new road-junction on Leigh Common, Dorset

We have criticised the Secretary of State for Environment for granting consent for further works on Leigh Common near Wimborne in Dorset.  However, we welcome the views of his inspector that there are ‘clear policy reasons to reject an application for this proposal’ under the procedure adopted by the developers, even though she went on…

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Parks under unprecedented pressure

‘Our public parks are under unprecedented pressure, 50 years after a law which was intended to protect and improve the countryside close to people’s homes.’ So declared our vice-president, Paul Clayden, at our annual general meeting in London today (5 July). ‘This week [3 July] we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Countryside Act 1968,…

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Countryside Act at 50

On 3 July we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Countryside Act 1968, an important piece of legislation.  The Open Spaces Society, with the Ramblers, played a major role in its genesis.  Our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, explains its history and significance. The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, which led to…

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