Harrogate Borough Council backs down on Stray plans
We warmly welcome Harrogate Borough Council’s decision to drop its plans to extend and expand the use of Harrogate Stray for commercial activities. The Stray is a historic green space at the heart of the town. The council was proposing to extend beyond 35 days the number of days on which events could be…
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Vineyard development rejected in Kent beauty-spot
Gravesham Borough Council has refused a planning application from Mr Gurmeet Bassi for development in connection with his vineyard at Meopham in Kent. This is in a prominent position in an area of natural beauty, close to popular public footpaths. The application included a new barn for storage, workshop, office and meeting room, hardstanding for…
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We press government to take urgent action to save parks
We are disappointed that the House of Commons Communities and Local Government (CLG) Committee, in its recent report on public parks, has rejected the proposal that a statutory duty be placed on local authorities to provide and maintain parks. The CLG Committee held an inquiry into public parks and asked three questions: why parks matter, what…
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Red card for Merton Council over blacktop on green
A member of the Open Spaces Society, Mitcham Cricket Green Community & Heritage, has today published a report on works undertaken on the Mitcham town greens by Merton Council which accuses the council of ignoring statutory controls and illegally developing valuable open space. The works, undertaken in June 2016, involved operations along Cranmer Road and…
Read MoreClosing the environmental impact assessment loophole on commons
We have called upon Defra to revoke its long-standing but unlawful exemption of works on common land from environmental impact assessment (EIA). The Government has recently concluded a consultation on implementing an amending directive (Directive 2014/52/EU) on EIA. The consultation includes proposals to amend regulations* which apply EIA to agricultural development projects with likely significant…
Read MoreOur four-point plan to improve paths in Powys
We have called on Powys County Council to step up its work in maintaining and promoting the county’s public-path network. The society was responding to a consultation on the council’s revised rights-of-way improvement plan (ROWIP). Our Radnorshire representative, Peter Newman, says that much of the public-rights-of-way network in Powys is ‘dire’ and that in many…
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Wisley interchange upgrade: Highways England must put its own house in order first
We have responded to the consultation on an upgrade to Wisley M25/A3 interchange by calling on Highways England to put its own house in order first. The society is opposed to the upgrade, but also notes that, more than 30 years after the construction of the M25 through Wisley common and Chatley Heath, the motorway…
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Our new representatives in Cornwall
We have appointed two new representatives in Cornwall: Jacqueline Merrick for Kerrier and Lucy Wilson for North Cornwall. As local correspondents, Jacqueline and Lucy will be the society’s eyes and ears, keeping a close watch on paths, commons, greens and open spaces in their areas and intervening as necessary. Among other activities, they will object…
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Development on Watton Copse
We have objected to a retrospective planning application to use Watton Copse for an oil-storage tank and for domestic purposes including car-parking. The land adjoins Vicarage Close in Watton, about five miles south of Driffield in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The land belongs to the East Riding of Yorkshire Council and is therefore public.…
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Friends of Coldhams Common celebrate removal of barbed wire fencing
Our member, Friends of Coldhams Common, is celebrating the removal of over 330m of barbed wire fence on the common. The fencing was a serious hazard to dogs and walkers on the common and probably dated from a 1980s City Council grant for tree planting. The barbed wire was erected to protect the trees from…
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