Oxfordshire County Council plans Cinderella paths to save money
We have urged 51 town and parish councils in Oxfordshire to reject Oxfordshire County Council’s plan to categorise local paths according to their use. The county has written to a number of local councils encouraging them to consider this. The society advises that this could lead to less-well-used paths being relegated so that they become…
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Wales apes England in changing law to destroy village greens
The society is dismayed that the Welsh Government proposes to copy England’s law and boost developers in destroying village greens. The Welsh Government in its Planning Bill, published today (6 October), copies England’s Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013. It prohibits the registration of land as a town or village green where it has been identified…
Read MoreVictory against destructive Somerset solar farm
We are delighted that plans by INRG Solar Ltd, for 25,000 solar panels at Tynings Farm, Kilmersdon, Somerset, have been rejected by a planning inspector. We backed our member, the Jack and Jill Hill Preservation Society in fighting the scheme. The developers appealed against Mendip District Council’s refusal of planning permission and inspector John Wilde…
Read MoreDelay to implementation of Part 1, Commons Act 2006
The society is disappointed to learn that there has been a last-minute delay to implementation of Part 1 of the Commons Act 2006 in two new pioneer areas, Cumbria and North Yorkshire. It will not therefore be possible to make applications in these two areas from 1 October as originally scheduled. We have been advised…
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Henley council rejects path discrimination
We have congratulated Henley Town Council on refusing to comply with Oxfordshire County Council’s plan to categorise local paths according to their use. Councillors, advised by the society, considered that this could lead to less-well-used paths being relegated so that they become obstructed and overgrown. The county council, the highway authority responsible for Oxfordshire’s public…
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Public hearing for Ealing’s Haven Green
The Friends of Haven Green and the Open Spaces Society are defending Haven Green (which is common land) at a hearing on Thursday 25 September. Ealing Council wants to widen a footway, erect temporary fencing, renew the footways and swap the land occupied by the old bus-layby, which will become common, for other land which…
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Saving our green spaces
If you want to save your open space you need to get involved. Our general secretary Kate Ashbrook tells you how. Communities need to be on their toes if they want to rescue their much-loved spaces from developers. The opportunity to register them as town or village greens has recently diminished in England, and…
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Saving an important route in Cwmcarn Forest, Caerphilly
Some months ago, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) made it known that as part of the plans to counteract the spread of Phytophthora ramorum (Larch disease) it would be felling all the larch trees in Cwmcarn Forest and closing the Forest Drive. Cwmcarn is alone in Wales in having a drive as well as cycling trails,…
Read MoreA blight on Hackney Marshes
We have objected to plans from the London Borough of Hackney to develop part of Hackney Marshes (East) for a car park and (North) for a pavilion with car park. We are backing our member the Hackney Marshes User Group which has for some time been protesting about the proposals. The marshes are registered common land and…
Read MoreRailway-crossing path saved
The society and the Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes and West Middlesex Ramblers are delighted that they have helped to save a popular footpath which crosses the railway line just south of Griffin Lane, north-west Aylesbury. Network Rail, backed by Bucks County Council, wanted to close the path on alleged safety grounds. They intended that people would instead…
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