October update: Open Space Charters
This year people have enjoyed their local green spaces as never before. Now is the time to protect and expand them. In early August we wrote to every planning authority in England and Wales (nearly 400 of them), Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, and Julie James, the Welsh…
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Government’s demolition of the planning system
We have slated the government’s white paper, Planning for the Future. In our response to the government consultation, we have argued that the proposed reforms will put precious open spaces and paths at risk. The government proposes to divide the country into three planning zones: ‘growth’ (suitable for substantial development), ‘renewal’ (suitable for development) and…
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Remembering two friends
We have received generous legacies from two members who we belatedly heard had died. Our general secretary, with much supplementary information from their friends, remembers them with gratitude. Olive Entwistle, 1925-2017 The champion of Chorleywood Common in Hertfordshire, our life member Olive Entwistle, died in June 2017 aged 92. Olive was born in London…
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Landscapes Review – what next?
Shoulder to shoulder with other influential NGO organisations including Campaign for National Parks, National Trust, Ramblers, RSPB, Youth Hostels Association, CPRE, The Wildlife Trusts and the British Mountaineering Council, and now a year since the publication of the Landscapes Review, we have written to Rt Hon George Eustice MP, Secretary of State for the Environment,…
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We fight threat to Brent River Park, Ealing
We have objected to an application to erect a massive leisure centre with residential development and other proposals on the edge of Brent River Park in Ealing. The site is on the existing Gurnell Leisure Centre and the application has been submitted by Be:Here Ealing Ltd, which has connections with Ealing Council. We are concerned…
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A toothless watchdog?
Our case officer Nicola Hodgson is keeping a close watch on the Environment Bill. This was introduced to parliament on 30 January 2020 with second reading on 26 February. The public-bill committee’s scrutiny was cut short by the covid-19 crisis, and the committee was expected to report to parliament by the end of June, but…
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How to subscribe to our You Tube Channel
YouTube is a video sharing channel where users can watch, like, share, comment and upload their own and other people’s videos. It works in a similar way to other social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter in that respect. You Tube can be accessed on PCs, laptops, tablets and via mobile phones. We will…
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Ellen’s decade as the hub of our office
We are fortunate that Ellen Froggatt, who was planning to retire in early April, is still with us. She has generously agreed to carry on as office manager part-time until we can return to the office and appoint a replacement. Consequently, Ellen celebrated ten years with the society on 7 June. In her time with…
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How do we protect open spaces closer to home?
The think tank, ‘Centre for Cities’, which focuses on improving the economies of the UK’s largest cities and towns, published an article at the start of our lock down period, ‘How easy is it for people to stay at home during the coronavirus pandemic?‘ It concluded that the provision of public open space, such as…
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Coronavirus (Covid-19) Update
We thank you for visiting our website and hope that you remain safe and well. The society team is working as usual during lockdown allbeit remotely. With our physical office running on a skeleton staff, responding to postal enquiries will take a much longer than usual and we would ask you not to telephone if…
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