Latest News

Bernard Selwyn (1925-2013)

May 29, 2013

We are sad that our vice-president Bernard Selwyn died on 14 May after a short illness. He was 87. Bernard was a chartered surveyor with the Greater London Council. He was a member of our executive committee (1982-2006), our parliamentary agent (1993-2005) and our spokesman for London. Bernard was immensely generous. In 1994 he suffered…

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Common-land swap refused at Booker

May 13, 2013

The Planning Inspectorate has refused an application to make a swap of common land at Booker, near High Wycombe in Bucks. The application was made by Dr Ewan Bumpstead, the owner of a property on Willow Avenue the front garden of which is 330 square metres of registered common land. He wanted to exchange this…

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The Growth and Infrastructure Act – the effect on greens

April 26, 2013

On 25 April the Growth and Infrastructure Bill received royal assent and is now the Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013. Despite all our efforts, the provisions relating to town and village greens were not amended. The Bill was guillotined when it returned to the House of Commons and MPs did not even get the opportunity to…

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Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013

April 1, 2013

The Department for Communities and Local Government’s draft order to amend the existing trigger and terminating events was confirmed in the House of Commons and the House of Lords on Tuesday 28 January. The order sets out a time limit for draft plans, Local Development Orders, Neighbourhood Development Orders and Transport and Works Act Orders.The confirmed order can be…

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Our VP Edgar Powell retires from Worcestershire LAF

March 19, 2013

Edgar Powell, our vice-president and local correspondent for Worcestershire and part of Herefordshire, has retired from Worcestershire Local Access Forum (LAF) on which he has served for ten years, six of them as chairman. The LAF made a presentation to Edgar on 14 March. Its chairman, Gerry Taggart, paid tribute to him: ‘The LAF was…

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Development is all

March 6, 2013

Our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, writes of the government’s attack on the law of prescription, and on our open spaces. Four days after the first reading of the government’s Growth and Infrastructure Bill, with its pernicious attack on town and village greens, I went to Westminster Abbey to celebrate the life of our early activist…

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Dick Hutchins—access man extraordinaire

February 10, 2013

Dick Hutchins: born 28 April 1915, died 19 January 2013  RN (Dick) Hutchins has died aged 97.  He was a member of the society since the 1930s—while studying law at the London School of Economics he learnt about the campaigns for the right to roam (then gathering a head of steam) which inspired him to…

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The spirit of Kinder lives on—81 years later

February 5, 2013

The first in what is hoped will be an annual celebration of Kinder Scout and the mass trespass will be held at New Mills Town Hall on Saturday 27 April. The Kinder & High Peak Advisory Group has decided that such was the enthusiasm engendered by the 80th anniversary celebrations last year, the event should…

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Last chance to grab your greens – do it now!

January 8, 2013

Our new-year message. We have made a last-minute call to communities to apply to register land as town or village greens.  The government’s Growth and Infrastructure Bill, currently in the House of Lords, emasculates the process. The government falsely claims that greens registration is a barrier to development and wants to stop this.  Clause 14…

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Open Space Award 2013

January 1, 2013

Read about the winners of our Open Space Award 2013 here. And you can view photos from the winning projects here. Shortlisted projects 1. Riverhill Regeneration Project, Cobham Conservation & Heritage Trust, Cobham, Surrey Summary of reasons for nomination as given by proposer: ‘The Riverhill Regeneration Project has been the Trust’s most ambitious project to date, the…

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