Posts by Abbie Cavendish
A statement on the Queen’s Speech
A statement on today’s Queen’s Speech from our General Secretary, Kate Ashbrook. ‘The society is pleased that the Queen’s Speech, made on 10 May, includes a Levelling-Up and Regeneration Bill, but is adamant that levelling up must include public access to green spaces and to nature. The society criticised the Levelling-Up White Paper in February…
Read MoreCriminalising bottles on the beach at Whitstable, Kent
We have criticised a draft public spaces protection order [1] for Whitstable [2] in Kent which will make criminals of many of its residents and visitors. Canterbury City Council has consulted on a draft order which would apply to the ‘Whitstable and Herne Bay Coastal Zone’. It would create new criminal offences to address activities having…
Read MoreBlackbushe aerodrome remains a common
We have welcomed the decision of the supreme court not to grant leave to appeal against a decision that Blackbushe aerodrome should remain registered as common land. The aerodrome lies on Yateley Common in Hampshire. It was established as a temporary wartime measure.[1] It is now operated by Blackbushe Airport Limited (BAL). Yateley Common,…
Read MoreA juggling act
Tywardreath and Par Parish Council (between Fowey and St Austell in Cornwall) set up a neighbourhood development plan (NDP) steering group. It has created a plan which protects open spaces (land and water) in the parish, setting an example to other communities. Alison White, the group’s secretary and a member of the society, provides tips…
Read More‘Natural Health Service’ proposed by access campaigners on anniversary of Kinder trespass
Access campaigners have called for a new movement to campaign for a ‘Natural Heath Service’ through greater access to our countryside. The proposal was presented at the 90th anniversary celebrations of the Kinder Scout Mass Trespass at Hayfield on Saturday (April 23). Kate Ashbrook, our general secretary, told a packed audience in The Royal Hotel:…
Read MoreHerefordshire’s historic Boat Lane, near Ross-On-Wye, is now on the map
We are delighted that the ancient Boat Lane, in the parishes of Goodrich and Walford south of Ross-on-Wye, has been added to Herefordshire Council’s definitive map of public paths, after a 20-year campaign. The route was claimed in 2003 by the society’s former local correspondent for south Herefordshire, Owen Morgan. He argued that the lane…
Read MoreOur new guide to saving green spaces
We have published a new edition of Getting Greens Registered, our step-by-step guide to registering land in England and Wales as a town or village green. Once registered, the land is protected from development and encroachment, and local people have rights of recreation there. The new (fourth) edition explains how local people must gather evidence…
Read MoreSuccessful re-registration applications in Cornwall
Land at Carrine commons, parish of Kea, Cornwall The application was made on 15 October 2010, under schedule 2, paragraph 4 of the Commons Act 206, to add land to the register of common land. The land is approximately 17.35 hectares in area. It is open heathland with gorse, brambles and a few scattered trees.…
Read MoreTweet of the day about major events in our 150-year history
Throughout 2015 we issued a ‘tweet of the day’, with hashtag #saveopenspaces150, highlighting an event in our history, and have reproduced the tweets here with a little more information where relevant. The list grew daily to build up a picture of what we have done in our 150-year history. Day 1: OSS founded on 19 July 1865,…
Read MoreOur 150th anniversary
2015 marks 150 years of the Open Spaces Society – Britain’s oldest national conservation body – and we invite you to help us celebrate this special year. Follow our 150th anniversary tweet-of-the-day Every day we are posting a tweet and message on Facebook with the hashtag #saveopenspaces150 to celebrate an achievement in our 150-year history. They are listed by…
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