We slate Network Rail’s blocked paths in Ely
We have complained to Cambridgeshire County Council about the unlawful closure of public paths by Network Rail. Our local correspondent, Alysoun Hodges, was dismayed to discover that Network Rail has closed footpaths in Ely where they cross the railway line. While Network Rail is carrying out a consultation on the closure of path crossings over…
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Speak up for open spaces and parks in Brighton
Our local correspondent, Chris Smith, is urging Brighton residents to speak up for open spaces and parks such as Stanmer Park and the surrounding downland. Brighton Council wants to make cuts to the amount it spends on parks and open spaces. It is holding a consultation about this because it is legally obliged to. You…
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Our new activist for St Edmundsbury, Suffolk
Simon Bunn is our new local correspondent for St Edmundsbury Borough in Suffolk. Simon will be our eyes and ears, keeping a close watch on paths, commons, greens and open spaces in the district and intervening as necessary. Simon, who lives at Haverhill, works for Cambridge City Council as a Sustainable Drainage Engineer, and has…
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Abbey Road Open Space at Steyning is a village green
West Sussex County Council has agreed to register four and a half acres of open space at Abbey Road, Steyning, as a village green. The Friends of Abbey Road Open Space applied to register the land as a green on 23 July 2015, on the grounds that local people had used the land for 20…
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Public footpath must be protected during Henley Regatta
We are anxious that Henley footpath 14, on the west bank of the River Thames, should remain undisturbed during the Regatta. The society has responded to the Regatta’s application for a licence to use the area for entertainment and to control entry. The area which is included in the licence takes in the route of…
Read MoreThreat to Dunsfold Common, Surrey
Kitewood Investments Ltd has applied for planning permission for 42 dwellings and associated development adjacent to Dunsfold Common south of Guildford in Surrey. The plans include an access track across the common, which will require the consent of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in addition to planning permission, because it is…
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Heritage Lottery funding for Kent’s Greensand Commons
We are delighted that Sevenoaks District Council has won funding for the Sevenoaks Greensand Commons Project in Kent. The Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded £65,900 to help the council develop plans for increasing public access to the commons and improving them for wildlife. The council will then prepare a full bid to enable it to…
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Henley-on-Thames welcomes walkers
Henley-on-Thames Town Council in Oxfordshire is holding a public meeting to assess the public support for Henley to become a Walkers Are Welcome Town. The Walkers Are Welcome Towns Network is a community-led scheme celebrating towns throughout England, Scotland and Wales which have something special to offer walkers. Our general secretary Kate Ashbrook, who is…
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We fight road threat to Surrey common
We are concerned that Miller Developments is threatening to build a road across Broad Street Common, near Guildford in Surrey, to serve a proposed new housing development of 220 properties. We have urged Surrey County Council to reject the plan. Broad Street Common is heavily protected. Not only is it registered common land with access rights…
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Damaging New Forest development is rejected
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has said no to an ugly solar ‘farm’ in the New Forest National Park. Greg Clark has dismissed an appeal from MTS Exbury Solar Ltd against refusal of planning permission by the New Forest National Park Authority. The application was for a solar farm on nine…
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