Milestone court-ruling: cattle-grids on public paths
We are delighted with the successful outcome to Alan Kind’s appeal to the High Court, to clarify whether or not a council can lawfully authorise a cattle-grid across the full width of a footpath or bridleway. This decision will provide additional protection for our public paths and better safety for the people using them. Capheaton…
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Four-mile fence on Brecon Beacons common land
We have objected to an application from the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority to retain a four-mile fence across open country in the heart of the national park. The fence was erected on common land as an emergency measure during the foot-and-mouth epidemic of 2001 and it should have been removed by 2006. When the…
Read MoreWind turbines in Gloucestershire countryside
We have objected to two wind turbines in south Gloucestershire, near the village of Kingswood. The Resilience Centre has applied to Stroud District Council for permission to erect one turbine near Cherry Rock Farm and another near Mounteneys Farm. We have backed local members and objected to both turbines. There are public footpaths in the…
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South Downs National Park anniversary celebrated
‘The South Downs National Park was achieved by a mixture of vision and persistence.’ So said Kate Ashbrook, general secretary of the Open Spaces Society, Britain’s oldest national conservation body, at a rally organised on 1 April by the Hampshire and Sussex Ramblers at Queen Elizabeth Country Park, Petersfield. The event was to mark the…
Read MoreKendal village green threatened by golfing development
We have renewed our call to South Lakeland District Council to reject the planning application from Kendal Golf Club for a covered driving-range on Kendal’s extensive village green in Cumbria. The green is on the side of Kendal Fell, which lies above the town to the north-west. For more than two centuries the land has…
Read MoreJuniper disease affects public access in Upper Teesdale
We are sorry to learn of the outbreak of a deadly disease to junipers, caused by a pathogen which has recently been discovered in the junipers of Upper Teesdale. Some of the area is open access land, which has been temporarily closed. Our local correspondent for County Durham, Jo Bird, tell us that this is…
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Dismay that Newhaven beach is not a green
We are dismayed by the High Court judgment that West Beach at Newhaven in East Sussex is not a village green. Mr Justice Ouseley ruled (21 March) that the land did not qualify as a green because its use by local people for informal recreation was incompatible with its statutory use as a port by…
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Tony Drake, path protector, 1923-2012
We are sad to report that our long-standing member Tony Drake has died aged 89. Tony was a walker and mountaineer; for decades he campaigned for public paths, especially in his home county of Gloucestershire and in Wales. Tony was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, the only child of Leslie and Gladys Drake. He inherited the…
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Red-tape review could threaten common land
We are concerned that plans to simplify the law of common land could put commons at risk of hostile development. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has published its plans to cut red tape for environmental regulations. These include extending the range of works on common land to be exempted from the consent…
Read MoreDavid and Goliath battle for Harefield green
Next week is a further milestone in the campaign to save Harefield’s Medi Parc site as a green space for local people. On Tuesday (20 March) the public inquiry opens into the application by the Harefield Tenants’ and Residents’ Association to register the land as a village green. Harefield is a village on the western…
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