Amenity groups deplore destruction of New Road Common, Kendal
The Open Spaces Society and Friends of the Lake District have deplored the decision of a planning inspector to allow flood-defence works on New Road Common in the heart of Kendal in Cumbria (now Westmorland and Furness). The application, made by the Environment Agency, followed hard on the heels of a damaging application for neighbouring…
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Our new advocate in the north west
We have appointed Ken Sharp as our local correspondent for West Lancashire and parts of Merseyside. Ken will be our watchdog here, keeping a close eye on paths, commons, greens, and open spaces. He will cover West Lancashire District, Knowsley, Liverpool City, St Helen’s Borough, and Sefton Metropolitan Borough. Following a 38-year career in information…
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Planning for commons in the north
Open Spaces Society case officer Hugh Craddock and Friends of the Lake District planning officer Lorayne Wall MRTPI, on 7 June addressed members of the Royal Town Planning Institute on planning for commons. At the Institute’s rural update for north of England, members heard about ‘Planning and Common Land’, raising awareness of how and why…
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Amenity groups slate flood scheme on Kendal’s common land
With the Friends of the Lake District we have slated the decision of a planning inspector to allow flood-defence works on Gooseholme Common in the heart of Kendal in Cumbria. The application, made by the Environment Agency, was for permanent flood-defence works including walls, kerbs, floodgates, subterranean culvert works with associated hardstanding, access hatches, and…
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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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Cows top at How Top
We’ve welcomed a decision to preserve part of White Moss common, Grasmere as common land. The proprietor of How Top, a former farmhouse near Town End, Grasmere, in the Lake District National Park, applied to Cumbria County Council in October 2020 to deregister around 80 square metres of roadside land north of How Top. The…
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Our featured images: the Cumbria collection
You can find our unique collection of lantern slides on the Open Spaces Society Website. The lantern transparencies show British landscapes from 1900-40, and were digitised and added to our website. This month, we’re focusing on our slides from Cumbria. The eight images show stunning scenes from the Lake District, including local workers and walkers…
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NEW Giving Green gift book bundles
We have partnered with Saraband, the Salford based award-winning independent publisher, as part of a Christmas fundraising initiative. The company represents authors who write about UK landscapes, wildlife, culture and folk traditions. Their titles cover fiction and non-fiction and have included a Booker Prize shortlist entry, the Wainright Prize for nature writing and the Robert…
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Winter Hill trespass a milestone, but still a long way to go
The Winter Hill mass demo in 1896 was a milestone in the history of public access—but we still have a long way to go.’ So declares our general secretary Kate Ashbrook, who will speak on 5 September at the 125th anniversary event of the Winter Hill mass trespass. Kate also spoke at the centenary event…
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Patricia’s heroic hike
Schoolgirl Patricia Wittbom chose to raise money for the society by a challenge walk. She tells her story. My name is Patricia Wittbom, I’m 11 years old and I am in year 7 at Tytherington School, Macclesfield, Cheshire. During the last year of covid lockdown I was lucky to be able to go out each…
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