Posts by Sarah Hacking
Planning undermined
The society is deeply concerned about recent government announcements on planning, deregulation and growth. Our case officer Nicola Hodgson gives an update on the alarming situation. The government’s Growth Plan will damage the environment, public access, and local democracy. The new policies appear to conflict with the ambitions and targets of the Environment Act, and…
Read MoreThreat to farming funds for access
We are deeply concerned to learn that the government may renege on its commitment to use agricultural payments for environmental and access improvements. The recent statement from Defra gives us little comfort. With other organisations we have, for the last six years, pushed relentlessly for agricultural funding in the Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMS) to…
Read More2026 Guillotine for historic ways is to be abolished
We are delighted that the government is to scrap the 2026 deadline for recording historic paths in England. This deadline has, for more than 20 years, threatened our unique path-network. The deadline meant that on 1 January 2026, public rights over thousands of paths, which are public highways but not yet recorded as such, or…
Read MoreVital piece missing from ‘levelling-up’ jigsaw
We have criticised today’s announcement on levelling up as a missed chance to rectify the gross inequality of access to local spaces. The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove, has unveiled his ‘levelling-up plan’ without a mention of the importance of local green spaces. Yet these, which have always been…
Read MoreOur stand against the grandstand
We save common land at Richmond Low Moor, North Yorkshire We have welcomed a court order setting aside the removal of common land from Richmond Low Moor following the society’s legal action. On 21 June 2021, North Yorkshire County Council granted an application by the Richmond Burgage Pastures Committee to deregister common land at the…
Read MoreOur justice system undermined
Over the last 157 years, the Open Spaces Society has taken pride in successfully using the courts to rectify wrongs affecting commons, greens, other open spaces, and public paths. We also back our members in their legal actions. Now, the Westminster government’s Judicial Review and Courts Bill is set to have a profoundly detrimental effect…
Read MoreGive us back our green
We have called for the return to public use of Market Green[1] in Water Orton, Warwickshire which, we say, unlawfully has been closed off to recreational use. The owner of the land, Star Pubs and Bars Ltd,[2] has applied to the Secretary of State to remove the status of the land as town or village…
Read MoreBudget does nothing for public access
We are deeply disappointed by the government’s budget, announced on 27 October. We had hopes that it would fund more and better public access, in town and country, in recognition of the effect of the pandemic which has made everyone appreciate the value of outdoor recreation for health and well-being. The government, in its flagship…
Read MoreHampstead Heath’s milestone Act of Parliament
Today, 29 June, is the 150th anniversary of the Hampstead Heath Act 1871, which empowered the Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) to purchase the Heath for the people. Now the Heath belongs to the City of London Corporation and is managed for the benefit of the public. We are proud to have played a major…
Read MoreGovernment’s missed opportunity to protect local open spaces
We are dismayed that the government proposes, in wholesale changes to the planning system, to undermine the protection afforded to green spaces. The society has raised these concerns in its response to the consultation from the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government on amendments to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The NPPF, among…
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