We call on local councils to help rescue green spaces
We have urged local councils to be active in rescuing green spaces in their communities. Our case officer, Nicola Hodgson, was addressing the Society of Local Council Clerks’ national conference for practitioners near Derby on 1 March. She spoke on the threats to town and village greens, common land and open spaces, and what local…
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Government’s new attack on beleaguered green spaces
Update: On 28 January, the order was confirmed by both Houses, see below: House of Commons debate House of Lords debate Read the confirmed order here. The government has struck yet another blow at open spaces. On Tuesday 28 January parliamentary committees will be asked to rubber-stamp a set of measures which make it even…
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Court ruling gives green light to developers on open spaces
‘A black ruling for greens’, is how we responded to the judgment* in the Supreme Court yesterday (5 February) which gives a green light to developers who want to build on open spaces. The court ruled that village greens at Curtis Fields at Weymouth in Dorset and Clayton Fields at Kirklees, West Yorkshire, must be…
Read MoreDeregulation Bill will help to get lost paths on the map
The Deregulation Bill, which is due for second reading in the House of Commons on Monday 3 February, will help to speed up claims for historic rights of way in England. The bill follows the recommendations in Stepping Forward, the report produced in 2010 by Natural England’s stakeholder working group on unrecorded highways. The group…
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What happened to balance?
When the Commons Bill was published in 2005 we were concerned, among other things, about part 1, which allows for correction and updating of the common-land registers. We feared that in the process we might lose more than we gained. However, ministers continually assured us, and parliament, that the bill was balanced and affected landowners…
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DEFRA publishes guidance on authorizing structures
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has published its guidance to local authorities on authorizing structures such as stiles and gates on rights of way, and their obligations under the Equality Act 2010. (Click to read) This is the product of a working party on which the society was represented by Chris Beney.
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Government’s plans for common land biased against public
We have criticised as biased Defra’s announcement today (9 January) that it will bring into effect only part of the law for updating the common-land registers, to favour landowners against the public interest. The environment ministers Lord de Mauley and Dan Rogerson have said that the government will implement part 1 of the Commons Act…
Read MoreMisleading articles about homeowners and ramblers: we put things straight
The society has criticised as muddled, misleading and inaccurate the stories which appeared in the national press on 2 January, with the headlines ‘Homeowners win right to bar ramblers from land’ (The Times) and ‘Homeowners’ victory in battle with ramblers’ (The Telegraph). The stories suggest that, under the proposed Deregulation Bill, landowners will have a…
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Landmark judgment on highway obstruction
A High Court judge has ruled that gates erected across Barcroft Lane by Mr Brian Herrick, owner of the £3.8-million Barcroft Hall at South Petherton in Somerset, are unlawful. They must now be removed. On 17 February Mr Justice Cranston handed down his judgment in Herrick v Kidner and Somerset County Council, which is the…
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Bovine TB control and commons
Because of the potential effect on common land, we have responded to a consultation from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on proposals for new controls to reduce the risk of bovine TB transmission between cattle herds. We have objected to the proposed amendment to remove the common land pre-movement testing exemption from…
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