Lost in the detail?
Our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, criticises the Westminster government for its lack of action on public access. At the end of February we still awaited action on access in the environmental land management scheme (ELMS). Defra officials are now seeking our views, but it doesn’t feel like the outcome will amount to much. In December,…
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Greenfields Recreation Ground to stay green
The supreme court has held that Greenfields Recreation Ground in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, cannot be developed, despite the grant of planning permission (now quashed) by Shropshire Council. This is because the land is subject to a statutory trust, and the supreme court ruled that the council failed to follow the legal procedure for disposal of public…
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Barking Tye common: a useful judgment
We challenged in the high court the decision of an inspector, appointed by the environment secretary, to grant consent under section 38 of the Commons Act 2006 for works on common land at Barking Tye in mid-Suffolk. Although he dismissed our appeal, the judge, Sir Ross Cranston, provided important clarification on the principles to be…
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Better access to popular path on Purbeck coast
Harry Alexander, one of our local correspondents, has persuaded Dorset Council to install an accessible gate on a popular path between Worth Matravers and the South West Coast Path, between Chapman’s Pool and St Aldhelm’s Head. The new gate opens up the obstructed path, which was blocked by a difficult stile, and a padlocked gate…
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Government’s lost chance to achieve levelling up
We have lamented the government’s failure to equalise the provision of green spaces for all. Responding to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), the society sets out its priorities for government in a five-point plan. The society wants to see: 1 an improvement in the process…
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Kilvey Hill, Swansea, must not be sacrificed for a vanity project
February 2024 update: The council has rebutted the Open Spaces Society following our objection to the disposal of space on Kilvey Hill. Read their statement and our responses here. We have objected strongly to a planning application from Swansea Skyline to convert Kilvey Hill, east of Swansea, into a massive tourism site. The society argues…
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Government promise on green space and water: how will it happen?
The government, in its Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) published on 31 January, has pledged that ‘the public will benefit from a new commitment to access green space or water within a 15-minute walk from their home, such as woodlands, wetlands, parks and rivers’. We welcome the words but are concerned about the lack of detail,…
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Environmental Improvement Plan 2023
The Government’s long-awaited Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) for England was published on 31 January. It claims to set out a five-year delivery plan to restore nature and improve the environmental quality of the air, waters, and land. It includes a new commitment that everyone should live within 15 minutes’ walk of a green or blue…
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Pavements are for pedestrians
We are working with Living Streets and the Ramblers to persuade the House of Lords to adopt our amendments to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill (LURB) to keep pavements free for the public. During the pandemic, the Business and Planning Act 2020 was introduced temporarily to streamline the procedure for allowing eating, drinking, and…
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No backtrack on backpack camping on Dartmoor commons
We are delighted that the Dartmoor National Park Authority has agreed unanimously to seek leave to appeal against the High Court judgment of 13 January; this ruled that there is no right to wild (backpack) camping on the Dartmoor commons. Says Kate Ashbrook, our general secretary: ‘We have always understood that the Dartmoor Commons Act…
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