Posts by Daniel Cregin
We defeat Barmby Moor village green swap
The Planning Inspectorate has rejected an application from Barmby Moor Parish Council to swap part of the village green, near Pocklington in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The parish council wanted to allow a private vehicular-access across the green. We were the sole objector. We considered that the swap was unfair, since the proposed exchange…
Read More150th anniversary of Nottingham Forest recreation ground’s inclosure oak
On Sunday, 18 October, we joined Nottingham citizens in celebrating 150 years of the Nottingham Forest recreation ground. In the year of the Open Spaces Society’s foundation, 1865, the first oak-tree, the Inclosure Oak, was planted close to the Mansfield Road entrance to the Forest recreation ground. This was to celebrate the grant of 122 acres of…
Read MoreWe fight renewed attempt to destroy Swansea commons
We have sent another strong objection to plans to build 16 wind turbines with associated infrastructure on Mynydd y Gwair and adjoining commons, eight miles north of Swansea. RWE Innogy UK Ltd has planning permission for the development but, because it is to be sited on registered common land, the developer needs the additional consent…
Read MoreA visit to Ashtead Common
The Open Spaces Society has had a strong connection with the City of London Corporation all through its history, and we helped the city acquire many of its open spaces: Hampstead Heath, Epping Forest, Burnham Beeches and the Coulsdon Commons. It was therefore fitting that, as one of our 150th anniversary events, we should visit…
Read MoreAgden solar development
We have objected to a planning application for a solar farm at Agden in Cheshire, close to the Shropshire border. The application from Lightsource SPV 34 Ltd threatens 40 acres of open countryside close to a number of public rights of way. This industrial development will wreck people’s enjoyment of the public paths in the…
Read MoreThe Welsh consultation on access and recreation
We have responded to the Welsh Government’s consultation on ‘Improving opportunities to access the outdoors for responsible recreation’. We have welcomed the proposal for greater access rights but made it clear that this must not be at the expense of public paths. We have deplored the Welsh Government’s dismissal of the historic value of the…
Read MoreWe fight loss of Lyde Green common on Bristol’s fringe
We have objected to plans from NORFT Ltd to sacrifice Lyde Green Common near Pucklechurch, north-east of Bristol, and replace it with inferior land some distance away. NORFT has applied to the Planning Inspectorate to deregister and exchange Lyde Green. We have objected because the proposed replacement land is of inferior quality to the common…
Read MoreDerek Smith
A former activist in south Wales and a good friend of the society, Derek Smith, has died aged 88. Derek and his late wife Nina (our local correspondents for the Vale of Glamorgan from 1999 to 2002) were an indomitable pair of path and amenity defenders over many years. Together they saved a pretty footpath…
Read More150th anniversary of midnight raid to free Berkhamsted Common
The National Trust is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the great battle to save Berkhamsted Common, Herts. The common was freed from enclosure on the night of 6 March 1866. The National Trust is staging an exhibition and commemorative walk on its Ashridge Estate. The exhibition opens on Saturday 10 October at the visitor centre…
Read MoreWe challenge Windsor & Maidenhead Council’s ‘path-improvement’ plan
We have challenged Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council for treating the new roadside footpath by Ray Mead Road north of Bridge Gardens as a permanent solution to the gap in the Thames Path National Trail beside the river bank. We were responding to the borough’s consultation on the updated Public Rights of Way Management and…
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