Bucks councils recognise value of Local Green Space
We are pleased that Chiltern and South Bucks District Councils have recognised the importance of Local Green Space in their new joint local plan. The councils have advocated that where land is proposed for removal from the green belt, the joint local plan will consider whether additional planning controls are appropriate, such as protection as…
Read MoreLocal councils need to be proactive in saving their open spaces
We have called on town and parish councils in Hampshire to be proactive in saving and supporting their local open spaces in these times of austerity. Nicola Hodgson, our society’s case officer, was speaking at the annual conference of the Hampshire Association of Local Councils on the vital topic of saving and supporting open spaces.…
Read More
150th anniversary of Berkhamsted Common battle
On Sunday (6 March) with the National Trust we celebrated the 150th anniversary of the night raid to free Berkhamsted Common. On 6 March 1866, the year after its foundation, the Open Spaces Society organised a trainload of brawny navvies to pull down Lord Brownlow’s illegal iron fences and reopen the common to the people.…
Read More
We call for public access to Shropshire woodlands
On Saturday (5 March) we shall call for greater public access to Weston Heath Coppice, Old Coppice and Bury Wood, at Weston-Under-Redcastle in north Shropshire. Our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, will speak at a rally at Weston village hall, with Keith Ridland, vice-chairman of the Campaign to Protect Rural England’s Shropshire branch. All are welcome…
Read More
Stepping stones across the River Thame
Our local correspondent Chris Hall writes of the society’s efforts to record a route across the River Thame in Oxfordshire as a public footpath. Three miles east of industrial Cowley, deep and peacefully remote in the meadows of the Oxford green belt, is a legal battleground at grid reference SP 601 005. As recently as…
Read More
Our new book to celebrate village greens
We have published a new book, Village Greens, to celebrate the fascinating village greens of England and Wales. It is written by our chairman, Graham Bathe. The book appears at a time when our green spaces have never been more threatened—by development, sale by local authorities, commercial abuse, neglect and lack of funding. Yet paradoxically…
Read More
Battersea Park condemned to become motor racetrack for Formula E
We are dismayed that Wandsworth Council has granted planning permission for the construction of a ‘temporary’ motor-racing circuit, fencing, safety barriers and numerous other structures related to hospitality and broadcasting, for the proposed Formula E championship in July. The event was staged for the first time last year. The society, Save Battersea Park, the London…
Read More
A generous bequest from Leslie Menzler
Our former local correspondent for Warwickshire, Leslie Menzler, died in 2014 aged 93 with no surviving family. He has left us a generous legacy. John Hall, our Coventry local correspondent writes of Leslie: Little is known about his early life but old family photos show Les living in Surrey with siblings and servants. His father,…
Read More
We slate boozy event on Acton Green common
We have objected to an application from Carsten Raun to hold a German beer-festival on Acton Green common, Ealing, for five days this August. Ealing Council has written to local residents to say that it intends to allow this. We argue that the Oktoberfest is unlawful under the Greater London Parks and Open Spaces Order…
Read MoreWe renew call for use of Local Green Space designation
We have called on the government to clarify the opportunities to win Local Green Space (LGS), and once again urged local authorities and communities to make use of the designation. The society has responded to a consultation from the Department for Communities and Local Government on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework of March…
Read More