Welsh government allows closure of some paths and access land

The Welsh government has introduced emergency legislation which enabled certain bodies to close identified public paths and access land because they create a risk of spreading coronavirus. The bodies had to close the paths by noon on 25 March 2020. The bodies (known as ‘relevant bodies’) entitled to do this are: county or county borough…

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We help save important cheshire footpath

We are delighted to have helped to save 800 metres of footpath in the lovely Todd valley, between Kettleshulme and Rainow in Cheshire East, from being expunged from the official (definitive) path map. Mrs Marie Cunningham applied on behalf of the landowner to Cheshire East Council to have the path removed from the official map. …

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Commons victory at historic Berkhamsted

We are delighted that Hertfordshire County Council has added a piece of Berkhamsted Common to the common-land register.  This will protect a further part of this historic common from development. The land is 0.17 hectares to the north of Britwell Drive, near Berkhamsted Golf Club (about one kilometre north-west of Berkhamsted). The land was subject…

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Coronavirus (Covid-19) Update

We thank you for visiting our website and hope that you remain safe and well. The society team is working as usual during lockdown allbeit remotely. With our physical office running on a skeleton staff, responding to postal enquiries will take a much longer than usual and we would ask you not to telephone if…

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Cornish common restored

Thanks to the painstaking research of our commons re-registration officer in Cornwall, Tomas Hill, we have restored six hectares to the commons register.  The land is at Trevellion Moor, on the west side of Bokiddick Downs and Lowertown Moor, a kilometre west of Helman Tor and three kilometres north of Luxulyan.  The land consists of…

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The rise and fall of village greens

The Supreme Court has dealt a bitter blow to communities wanting to protect their open spaces. As a result of a judgment last December concerning two green spaces, in Lancashire and Surrey, it has become much more difficult to protect land and assert rights of recreation on it. Our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, follows the…

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Commons past and present – Downley local history group event

Our commons re-registration officer Frances Kerner gave an illustrated talk on 29 February 2020 at Downley Memorial Hall entitled, Downley Common, its Origin and Survival within the Manor of West Wycombe. The hall was packed, with 92 people present. Frances’s talk traced the general history of common land, including its survival and loss. As an…

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Government plans could make innocent trespassers into criminals

The government’s proposals to strengthen police powers against trespass could make criminals of innocent people visiting the countryside.  We have expressed this fear in our response to the Home Office consultation on the criminalisation of trespass in England and Wales. The Conservative manifesto declared ‘We will make intentional trespass a criminal offence.’  Before this, the…

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