Public access to National Forest collapses: survey warning to minister
We have revealed that public access to the Midlands National Forest (520 square kilometres)[1], established with the government’s financial support since the early 1990s, is collapsing. There are 45 sites, which were open to public access within the forest by agreement between owners and public bodies such as the National Forest Company and the Forestry…
Quarry extension on Blaenau Gwent common refused
We have welcomed the decision of an inspector acting for the Welsh Ministers to refuse commons consent for an extension of the Gryphonn quarry at Trefil common, four kilometres north-west of Tredegar in Blaenau Gwent county, just outside the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park boundary. In a decision dated 23 September 2026 (ref CAS-04928-F9C0T6), inspector I…
Our members visit Dorchester on Thames
On Saturday 19 September 26 society members gathered at the village hall in Dorchester on Thames, Oxfordshire, for our second members’ day in recent years. We were treated to a fascinating talk by Professor Malcolm Airs, who has lived in Dorchester for about 50 years and is a mine of information about the history of…
Eastry footpath, Kent, resurrected after 75-year loss
We are celebrating the recognition of an ancient public footpath from Eastry to Hammill in East Kent. In August 2022, the society applied to Kent County Council to record a public footpath between Gore Lane, Eastry, and Hammill Farm,[1] a distance of 1,600 metres across the arable lands west of Eastry village. This area lacks…
Planning reforms put parks and open spaces at risk
We have warned that the government’s ‘pro-growth’ planning agenda comes at the expense of social and environmental benefits. We believe that the government’s decisions on the statutory consultee system and National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), published on 17 August, will weaken protection for parks, gardens and open spaces. But the society also offers a welcome for new provisions to protect…
Our path claim enables cyclists to use Itchenor ferry, West Sussex
Thanks to our local correspondent Chris Smith, the ancient way between Bosham and the Itchenor ferry, west of Chichester in West Sussex, has been added to the official map of public rights of way, enabling cyclists to gain access to and from the ferry. For many years the ferry across Chichester Harbour between Bosham and Itchenor has carried pedestrians and cyclists. It is a popular journey. But the route between…
We win back common land in Hertfordshire
We are delighted that land in Hertfordshire has been registered as common, giving it protection, and the public rights of access there. The land failed to be registered as common land when the registers were first opened under the Commons Registration Act 1965 (the 1965 Act) for a three-year period. Hertfordshire County Council has granted two of the society’s applications for land just…
150th anniversary of landmark act
Yesterday, 11 August 2026, was the 150th anniversary of the Commons Act 1876, the Act which spelt the death knell for the parliamentary inclosure of common land in England and Wales. Our society, then the Commons Preservation Society, played a part in its enactment. Our president, Lord Eversley, with vice-presidents James Bryce MP, Charles Dilke MP, Henry Fawcett MP, and other supporters, won amendments to strengthen the Bill against inclosures, and in the interest of agricultural…
We threaten legal action to reopen blocked paths in Herefordshire
We are delighted that its threat of legal action has caused Herefordshire Council to reopen obstructed and overgrown paths in Abbey Dore parish, in south Herefordshire. Our local correspondent, Dave Howerski, has reported issues to the council, as highway authority, over the past year. This produced no resolution, so he served eight legal notices on the council, four of them under section 56 of the Highways Act 1980 stating that the highways…
We help to save valuable footpath at Wimbish, Essex
We have helped to save the attractive 463-metre footpath, south of Wimbish Green, six kilometres south-east of Saffron Walden, in Uttlesford District, Essex. The path, known as Wimbish footpath 70, runs through the grounds of three residential properties. The owner of one of them, Midfield, applied to close the route under section 118 of the Highways Act…