Posts by Daniel Cregin
Kate Ashbrook shortlisted as Outdoor Personality of the Year
We are delighted that our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, has been shortlisted as Outdoor Personality of the Year in The Great Outdoors (TGO) Awards which are run annually by TGO magazine and voted for by members of the public. Kate became general secretary of the society in 1984. A former member of the Countryside Agency…
Read MoreWe object to Defra’s plans to justify development
We have objected to plans by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for ‘biodiversity offsetting’, by which alternative sites and habitats are provided to replace those lost through development. The society responded to Defra’s consultation Biodiversity offsetting in England, green paper. We believe that offsetting will lead to a net loss of…
Read MoreCommon land reclaimed at St Just, Cornwall
More than 100 hectares of common land at Carn Kenidjack, north of St Just in Penwith, Cornwall, have been reclaimed as registered common land, using legislation which is being pioneered in Cornwall (part 1 of the Commons Act 2006). Following a public inquiry in September, planning inspector Martin Elliott ruled that the land should be…
Read MoreSir Robert Hunter, 1844-1913
6 November 2013 is the centenary of the death of Robert Hunter, the society’s solicitor from 1868 to 1882. Robert Hunter was an early luminary of the Commons Preservation Society (CPS), as the Open Spaces Society was first known. He later became solicitor to the General Post Office and founded the National Trust. He was…
Read MoreA gross injustice
We have submitted a robust response to the Ministry of Justice’s consultation, Judicial review—proposals for further reform. The consultation closed on 1 November. The proposals are an attack on the freedom of charities to pursue action in the courts. The ministry proposes to make it more difficult for charities such as ours to take cases…
Read MoreObjectors prepare for battle to save path to Morfa Beach
We are among the objectors to the proposed extinguishment of most of Longlands Lane, Margam, in Neath Port Talbot, and the diversion of the Wales Coastal Path inland beside a railway line and goods yard. There is to be a public inquiry into these proposed path-changes, to be held at the Orangery in Margam Country…
Read MorePorthcawl’s quiet lane saved from development
We have welcomed Bridgend County Borough Council’s decision to refuse planning permission on land at Moor Lane, Porthcawl, south Wales. The society objected because Moor Lane is popular with walkers, runners, horse riders and cyclists, and these vulnerable road-users could not have continued to enjoy this narrow country lane. Porthcawl Riders and local residents from…
Read MoreInclosure revived
Our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, writes about the revival of the inclosure movement. A century and a half ago we thought the inclosures were coming to an end—about the time that the Open Spaces Society was formed. Indeed, I said as much in Japan recently to an international audience on commons, and commiserated with those…
Read MoreBrendon Commons, Exmoor, set to become first commons council under new law
We have backed a proposal to create a commons council for the Brendon Commons in the Exmoor National Park. This would be the first-ever commons council under the Commons Act 2006. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is consulting on whether to establish the commons council and will only do so…
Read MoreLincoln stalwart retires
Mick Commons has recently resigned from the Lincoln City Commons Advisory Panel on which he served as the society’s representative for nearly 30 years. Mick, a professional footballer, became interested in the commons when he kept horses there. The committee was established thanks to the society’s opposition to the city council’s Lincoln City Council Bill…
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