We back Whitstable campaign group’s call local green space
We have backed our member, the Whitstable Beach Campaign, in its call for Whitstable Beach in Kent to be designated as a Local Green Space in Canterbury City Council’s Local Plan. Very few such spaces have yet been designated under the government’s National Planning Policy Framework, but we believe that Whitstable Beach fulfils the criteria…
Read MoreMinister rules that ‘Circuit of Wales’ development will not be called in
We are distressed that Carl Sargeant, the Minister for Housing and Regeneration in the Welsh Government, has ruled that the application for the ‘Circuit of Wales’ motor-racing centre will not be called in, but left for Blaenau Gwent Council to determine as it sees fit. The council has already granted outline consent to the Heads…
Read MorePolo plans rejected because of danger to byway
Wycombe District Council has rejected a planning application for polo practice at Low Grounds Farm, near Marlow in Bucks, because it would interfere with walkers, riders and cyclists using Harleyford Lane. The application was for change of use of land from agricultural use to polo practice and would have resulted in heavy use of Harleyford…
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We object to further threat to green spaces
We have objected to the government’s plans to make it even more difficult to register land as a town or village green in England, following the harsh restrictions already imposed by the Growth and Infrastructure Act earlier this year. The society has responded to a consultation by the Department for Communities and Local Government and…
Read MorePicket Mead Common to be dug up
We are disappointed that the Welsh ministers have agreed that Carrington Moore Estates can dig up Picket Mead Common at Newton, Swansea, in connection with planning permission for adjoining development. Carrington Moore Estates, in which the former Welsh rugby captain Andy Moore has an interest, want to bury underground services (electricity, gas, water, telecoms and…
Read MoreLondoners asked for their views on green spaces
Londoners are being asked for their views on how green spaces in the capital are managed in the light of increasing concerns that budget cuts and building developments will put them at risk. The London Assembly environment committee has undertaken a survey which will allow participants to give their priorities for green spaces and to…
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We calls for protection for paths, commons and greens when land is sold
We have called for public paths, common land and town and village greens to be protected when land is sold. We want questions about the existence of these features on a property to be compulsory, so that a prospective purchaser knows about them before he or she buys the land. At present these questions are…
Read MoreEnvironment body’s u-turn on Circuit of Wales development
Natural Resources Wales (NRW), the Welsh Government’s environmental advisory body, has done a u-turn on the ‘Circuit of Wales’ motor-racing centre at Ebbw Vale. NRW is no longer asking the government to call in the application which was granted outline consent by Blaenau Gwent Council last month. The development is on common land and abuts…
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Ugly cables across Dartmoor to go underground
Western Power Distribution has won consent to put four kilometres of ugly electricity cables underground. The cables stretch across Walkhampton Common, in the Dartmoor National Park, and have been an eyesore for decades. Because the land is common land, WPD needed the consent of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to…
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Land saved for the community in Weston, Bath
The residents of Weston, Bath, and the Open Spaces Society are delighted that four hectares known as ‘The Field Behind Purlewent Drive’ in Weston have been registered as a village green. This means that local people have the right to enjoy the land for informal recreation and it is protected from development. Local people initiated…
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