Goodbye to blocked byway in East Sussex

Following pressure from Chris Smith, our local correspondent for Lewes district in East Sussex, the Firle Estate has reopened a blocked byway.  This is an old, two-kilometre-long route, shown on some eighteenth-century maps.  It runs between Newelm, west of Firle, westwards to the A26 road at The Lay in Beddingham parish.  It was probably first…

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Byway-blockage epidemic in Wiltshire 

The society has been pressing Wiltshire Council to secure the removal of obstructions on byways in Wiltshire. The council has finally acted—but only in one case, ordering a farmer to remove a set of illegal gates across a byway in the Wylye Valley. That followed a statutory notice from us requiring the council to have…

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We fight Clyne Common swap at public inquiry 

We object to the proposed, unfair land swap on Clyne Common, Swansea, and will give evidence to a public inquiry which opens on Tuesday (6 August)[1]. The society joins the Gower Society and many other objectors in arguing that the Duke of Beaufort’s Somerset Trust land to be taken for housing is far superior to…

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Gerry Stewart, 1933 – 2024 

We are sad that our local correspondent for Cotswold District in Gloucestershire who served for 26 years, has died aged 90.  Gerald Frederick Stewart, known as Gerry, was born in Winchcombe on 5 September 1933.  He moved, as a young child, to Frampton Cottages, near the village of Alderton, six miles east of Tewkesbury.  He…

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Green-space gap in new planning policies

‘The planning system should give the creation and protection of green space and public paths the same priority as other infrastructure.  Sadly, this is not reflected in the proposed revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).’  So declared Nicola Hodgson, one of our case officers.  ‘This would have been a good opportunity to put green spaces,…

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A summer of celebration for new village greens in Havering

Earlier this year, we were delighted when Havering Council formally agreed to adopt five new village greens which it had previously identified as much-needed sites across the borough. This summer, the council is celebrating the new sites with a series of event and dedications over the coming weeks. The first of these events, which local…

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We fight new threat to Brent River Park, Ealing 

We have objected to an application from Ealing Council to erect a massive leisure-centre with residential development and other infrastructure in Brent River Park in Ealing.    The society is concerned that the development will take a bite out of the Brent River Park, destroying metropolitan open land (MOL) and public open space (POS).  It argues…

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Access groups free an obstructed byway in North Yorkshire 

The society was pleased to support the British Horse Society (BHS), along with the Byways and Bridleways Trust and Ramblers, to secure the removal of two pairs of large, ornamental gates which were obstructing a restricted byway in Stanwick St John, about eight miles north-east of Richmond in North Yorkshire.  The BHS issued proceedings in…

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