Archive for January 2022
Our stand against the grandstand
We save common land at Richmond Low Moor, North Yorkshire We have welcomed a court order setting aside the removal of common land from Richmond Low Moor following the society’s legal action. On 21 June 2021, North Yorkshire County Council granted an application by the Richmond Burgage Pastures Committee to deregister common land at the…
Read MoreOur justice system undermined
Over the last 157 years, the Open Spaces Society has taken pride in successfully using the courts to rectify wrongs affecting commons, greens, other open spaces, and public paths. We also back our members in their legal actions. Now, the Westminster government’s Judicial Review and Courts Bill is set to have a profoundly detrimental effect…
Read MoreA step up for England’s protected landscapes
The government has, at last, announced its response to the Landscapes Review in England. The review, led by journalist Julian Glover, was published in September 2019, more than two years ago, and made ambitious recommendations for the future of our national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty. In his foreword to the response Defra…
Read MoreParks for ever
Simon Hunt, one of our trustees and the former chair of the Friends of Finsbury Park, reflects on the increasing importance of open spaces in the context of the pandemic and climate crisis. On 23 March 2020 the public was told to stay at home. Shops, pubs, gyms, theatres, cafes and restaurants were closed, and…
Read MoreDeveloper takes a wrong turn on Dunsfold Common, Surrey
We have welcomed the decision of an inspector to refuse permission for an access road across Dunsfold Common, six miles south-east of Godalming in Surrey. In her decision letter, inspector Helen O’Connor LLB MA MRTPI, appointed by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, has rejected an application by Kitewood Investment Ltd…
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