Posts by Abbie Cavendish
Our loyal member Tony Newman (1929-2021)
Our member for 50 years, the late Tony Newman, has left us a generous legacy. Tony was born in Tottenham, north London, in 1929. He lived in London and Surrey during his childhood, and began his working life in Thomas Cook’s head office in Piccadilly, in the winter-sports department. After National Service, from 1947 to…
Read MoreOur new campaigner in Buckinghamshire’s former Chiltern district
We have appointed Aidan Harris as our local correspondent for the former Chiltern district in Buckinghamshire. On behalf of the society, Aidan will champion public paths, and commons, greens and other open spaces in his patch. He will respond to proposals to alter the routes of public paths and advise the society and its members…
Read MoreAn open letter to Cornwall Councillors from Open Spaces Society member, Hugh Gladden
Open Spaces Society member, Hugh Gladden, recently wrote to the Cornish Times, expressing his disappointment at the council’s failure in its duty to prevent paths being obstructed. You can read his letter below. Hundreds of landowners commit criminal offences, but Cornwall Council and its councillors look the other way. Under the Highways Act (1980) local…
Read MoreLand registered as common at Teneriffe in Cornwall
We celebrate the decision by the Planning Inspectorate to grant our application to register two small pieces of land (0.146 hectare) situated two miles south of Mullion in Cornwall. The land was provisionally registered as common land under the Commons Registration Act 1965, but late in the day the applicant withdrew the application and the…
Read MoreWe help to protect Hamsterley green, County Durham
We have welcomed a decision which will help protect Hamsterley village green, VG45, six miles west of Bishop Auckland in County Durham. Hamsterley Parish Council had applied to the environment secretary for permission to deregister part of the green, which includes a ribbon of green verge along Saunders Avenue, to facilitate access to a new…
Read MoreWorks compound rejected on Chobham Common, Surrey
We have welcomed the decision of an inspector to refuse consent for a new works-compound on Chobham Common in Surrey. The works were proposed by Sunningdale golf club, for which an application for consent was made under section 38 of the Commons Act 2006. Sunningdale new course lies largely on Chobham Common, whereas the old…
Read MoreReopening of blocked footpath in Cornwall follows threat of legal action
Following a threat of legal action, a landowner has removed crops which were obstructing the route of a public footpath at St Ervan, three miles south-west of Padstow in Cornwall. The landowner is a St Ervan parish councillor. Cornwall Council, the highway authority, had failed in its legal duty to ensure the path remained unobstructed,…
Read MoreHertfordshire paths-champion wins our prestigious Eversley Award
Mr Chris Beney of Bushey in Hertfordshire is the second-ever winner of the Open Spaces Society’s rarely-presented Eversley Award for Outstanding Personal Endeavour. The award is named after Lord Eversley, the distinguished founder of the society in 1865, and for many years its president and chairman. It is presented occasionally by the trustees to people…
Read MoreOur latest local correspondents’ conference
Fourteen of our local correspondents (about one third) gathered, with our chairman Phil Wadey and five members of staff, at Hillscourt conference centre, on the edge of the Lickey Hills near Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, for a two-day event. It was an opportunity for us to update each other on the law and guidance, and to…
Read MoreCommon land saved at Bracelet Bay beauty-spot, Swansea
We are pleased that Swansea City and County Council has withdrawn its application to deregister [1] common land at Tutts Head, Bracelet Bay, Mumbles. This is a popular beauty-spot, and deregistration would have made the land vulnerable to development. The council had applied to itself to deregister the land on the basis that the land…
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