Speak up for commons, open spaces and footpaths in East Sussex
The Open Spaces Society is urging everyone who walks, rides or cycles on the commons, open spaces and footpaths of East Sussex to tell East Sussex County Council how important those facilities are to them. The council is conducting a survey of usage of these facilities. You can find it on the consultations page of…
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Commons and the Law training workshop from the Chilterns Commons Project
‘Commons are the jewels of the Chilterns,’ declares Nicola Hodgson, our case officer, who is today giving presentations at a workshop at Naphill, Bucks, on the range of legislation which affects common land. The training workshop, Commons and the Law, is part of the Chilterns Commons Project and is for all those involved with the…
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We object to new houses next to Booker Common and bridleway
We have objected to a planning application from Bramley Homes for two houses on land next to the former Live and Let Live pub at Booker Common, High Wycombe, Bucks. The society is concerned that the development could have an adverse effect on the adjoining Booker Common and public bridleway. The planning statement does not…
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Good Hants, bad Hants?
Hampshire County Council has a long, solid record in good countryside-management. For decades the council has led in providing better access for all and in countryside interpretation. It owns a number of well-managed country parks, commons and nature reserves. It pioneers a lottery-funded project, Providing Access to Hampshire’s Heritage (PATHH), to recruit and train volunteers…
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Henley’s hat-trick for public paths and access
The society has praised Henley Town Council for a hat-trick of successes on public paths and public access. Our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, was speaking at the opening of the footpath which has been dedicated by the town council on 8 November. Said Kate: ‘Henley Town Council is triple tops when it comes to paths and…
Read MoreBeauty-spot sun factory is rejected
We are delighted that plans for 29,000 solar panels on open fields at Forty Green, near Bledlow in Bucks, have been rejected by Wycombe District Councillors. The panels, with a substation and a variety of buildings, would have smothered 45 acres at the foot of the Chiltern escarpment. The campaign against the proposal was led…
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Newhaven Beach: landmark case for village greens to be heard in Supreme Court
The landmark case for the registration of land as a village green, at West Beach, Newhaven, East Sussex, is set to be heard in the Supreme Court on Monday and Tuesday next week (3-4 November). We are backing our member, Newhaven Town Council, the applicant for the village green. The council applied to register the…
Read MorePath to Ramsgate Harbour confirmed
The society is delighted that a new public highway has been recorded at Ramsgate harbour in Kent. The route runs between Madeira Walk and the lower esplanade at the harbour via a flight of steps and a tunnel. The society’s local correspondent for Thanet, Gordon Sencicle, backed the claim. Because there was an objection, the…
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Hampshire County Council to stop public from claiming rights on its land
We are dismayed that Hampshire County Council, the greens registration authority, is posting notices on all its countryside sites to prevent people from registering the land as a village green or claiming public paths there. The county council has written to all the parish clerks in Hampshire to warn them that the notices are going…
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Riverside path at Purfleet re-opens after nearly 20 years
After nearly 20 years of obstruction, the riverside path at Purfleet, which leads to Grays, has re-opened following action by keen Thames-side walker and Open Spaces Society member Chris Smith. Chris was pleased to have the support of the OSS and the Ramblers. The path was obstructed in the 1990s near Purfleet Station by a…
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