Posts by Daniel Cregin
Festival closure of internationally-acclaimed footpath
We have objected to plans by the Henley Festival for the temporary closure of the Thames Path National Trail in July 2017. Every year since 1998 the Festival has applied to Wokingham Borough Council, the highway authority, for the temporary closure of the path during the Festival, and the council has agreed. The Open Spaces…
Read MoreWe back best-ever coastal route in Hamble River valley, Hampshire
We are supporting the Hamble River Valley Forum (HRVF) in Hampshire in its bid to secure the best possible route for the England Coast Path. Natural England is identifying the route of the coastal path in stages and is currently looking at the stretch between Calshot and Gosport. Once the route is set, there will…
Read MoreWe win new green space and footpath for Witney, Oxfordshire
We have won a new town green and public footpath for the town of Witney in Oxfordshire. These are on land which is being developed by Richmond Care Villages (RCV) between Thorney Leys and Curbridge Road. RCV went ahead with their development, illegally obstructing Witney footpath 40 which they belatedly applied to move. The path…
Read MoreWe slate sales of unique Brighton downland
We have written to Brighton councillors to condemn the sale of Brighton’s unique downland, much of it within the South Downs National Park. A number of sites have already been sold and others are under offer, with the council’s agents Savills. Brighton and Hove City Council plans to sell more than 100 acres of downland…
Read MoreNorfolk outdoor activists slam county council’s failure to maintain public paths
Outdoor activists in Norfolk are angry that Norfolk County Council trumpets that it is third out of 28 councils for ‘satisfaction with its highways and transport services’, while ignoring the fact that for the last three years Norfolk has been in the bottom three or four for ‘satisfaction with public rights of way’ and this…
Read MoreWe oppose public-path changes in Meopham, Kent
We have objected to plans from a landowner to move public footpaths onto inferior routes, to accommodate a vineyard, at Meopham in Kent. We are backing our member the Meopham and District Footpaths Group in fighting the proposals. The landowner, Mr G Bassi, says that he bought the land with the intention of expanding his…
Read MoreDamaging development in the heart of the Chiltern Hills
We have objected to plans from the Well Place Manor Trust to build a private equestrian development in an unspoilt valley in the heart of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The site, at Skirmett in Bucks, has been the subject of many previous planning applications, most of which have been rejected by Wycombe…
Read MoreForest of Dean Council rejects criminal sanctions on shepherds
We are delighted that Forest of Dean District Council’s has rejected the proposed measure to make so-called irresponsible shepherds into criminals. The council has decided, on the chairman’s casting vote, not to invoke its proposed Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) in the village of Bream, three miles north-west of Lydney in Gloucestershire. The council wishes…
Read MoreDefra’s ‘consultation’ on Natural England’s outdoor research is a sham
We have slated the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for its sham consultation into Natural England’s long-standing research on people and the natural environment. The results are published today (4 November) but Defra states that the changes have already gone ahead—before the consultation period even closed. The research, ‘Monitor of Engagement with…
Read MorePublic invitation to view site of new paths and green in Witney, Oxfordshire
At the instigation of the Open Spaces Society, Richmond Villages have published the following advertisement in this week’s Witney Gazette inviting the public to visit its development site and see the position of two proposed new paths and a town green. PUBLIC NOTICE INVITATION TO THE PUBLIC The land between Thorney Leys and Curbridge Road is being…
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