Backword from Westminster
Our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, reports on the latest backsliding from the Westminster government. There is a north-country phrase ‘to give backword’. In a devastating move, environment secretary Thérèse Coffey has done just that, reversing last year’s decision by environment minister Richard Benyon to repeal the 2026 deadline for recording lost paths in England. Instead,…
Read MoreCommon land restored: ‘The Bunny Hill’ in Cornwall
We are delighted by the planning inspectorate’s decision to grant the society’s application to register as common land 3.86 hectares of land at The Bunny Hill and part of Fentongoose Common. The land is situated approximately four kilometres south-west of Truro in Cornwall, and north-west of Carrine Common. The land comprises trees interspersed with scrub…
Read MoreWe condemn skyline development at Swansea beauty-spot
We have made a strong objection to plans to desecrate Kilvey Hill, east of Swansea. We have submitted our objection to Asbri Planning, acting for Swansea Skyline Ltd, which proposes to develop the hill and surrounding area with a leisure development. This comprises, among other infrastructure, gondola stations, a multi-purpose visitor building, luge tracks, chairlift,…
Read MoreTime for a new manifesto for public access
‘It is time for a new manifesto for public access in town and country,’ said Kate Ashbrook, our general secretary. Kate was giving the keynote speech at the event to mark the 91st anniversary of the mass trespass on Kinder Scout on 24 April 1932. The celebrations were held at Hayfield village hall, Derbyshire, at…
Read MoreMichèle Kohler, 1945-2022
Michèle Kohler, who has died aged 76, was a generous supporter of the Open Spaces Society. Michèle was born in California in 1945. The family moved to New York after the war where her parents were both family doctors. She read history at the University of Rochester, New York, when she was only 15. In…
Read MoreNew green at Long Ditton, Surrey
We are delighted that Elmbridge Borough Council in Surrey has voluntarily registered Stokes Field, Long Ditton, as a village green. This follows a long campaign by the society. Comprising about eight hectares of mixed woodland, open grassland and scrub intersected by numerous paths, the land is also a Local Nature Reserve. After Elmbridge Council’s consultants…
Read MoreEnvironment minister breaks government pledge to save historic paths
We have condemned the Environment Secretary’s decision to break the government’s undertaking last year to ditch the 2026 deadline for recording lost paths in England. Thérèse Coffey has now decided not to revoke the deadline but to extend it for five years. The deadline means that on 1 January 2031, public rights over thousands of…
Read MoreAmenity groups slate flood scheme on Kendal’s common land
With the Friends of the Lake District we have slated the decision of a planning inspector to allow flood-defence works on Gooseholme Common in the heart of Kendal in Cumbria. The application, made by the Environment Agency, was for permanent flood-defence works including walls, kerbs, floodgates, subterranean culvert works with associated hardstanding, access hatches, and…
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