Latest News

Parish opposition to Somerset sun-factory

November 28, 2012

Doulting Parish Council has voted to object to an application from AEE Renewables for a solar farm close to public footpaths in the heart of rural Somerset. We submitted our objection in August. The application is for 22,000 solar panels, security fencing and associated equipment on the slopes of Ingsdons Hill about a mile east…

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Popular Plympton path to be closed

November 22, 2012

We are dismayed that Plympton St Mary footpath 2, which runs through the grounds of the Ridgeway School, is to be closed.  A public inquiry into the closure was held last month and the inspector, Mr Paul Dignan, ruled in favour of Plymouth City Council which wanted to close the path. The school and the…

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We help to save Somerset paths

November 16, 2012

We have helped save two public footpaths at Oake Manor golf course, near Taunton in Somerset, from being moved to inferior routes.  Our local correspondent Paul Partington was among the objectors at a hearing last month.  The inspector’s decision, refusing the path changes, was issued last week. The existing routes run from Oake Manor in…

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Cramber Tor controversy

October 15, 2012

We have objected strongly to the application from the Ministry of Defence for the continuation of ‘dry training’ (ie not live firing) at Cramber Tor on south-west Dartmoor, for an indefinite period. We consider that the application conflicts with the statutory purposes of national parks and with the Dartmoor National Park Authority’s policies, particularly its…

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South West commons conference

September 25, 2012

The biennial conference of the South West Uplands Federation is being held at Exeter Racecourse on Friday 19 October 2012, hosted by the Dartmoor Preservation Association. The conference will focus on the grazed commons of Bodmin, Exmoor and Dartmoor, the day-to-day practicalities of commons management and the implications of CAP reform and other policy changes.…

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Threat to Charlton Common

September 3, 2012

Redrow Homes South West wants to build a wide access road across Charlton Common in South Gloucestershire, north of Bristol. The developers have applied to the Secretary of State for Environment for consent for works on common land, and we have objected. The plan is to realign and widen the existing access road, Charlton Lane,…

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We oppose Somerset sun-factory

August 30, 2012

We have objected to an application from AEE Renewables for 22,000 solar panels, security fencing and associated equipment on fields in rural Somerset, close to public footpaths. In the application it is called a ‘solar farm’. The site is about a mile east of Shepton Mallet in the parish of Doulting. The planning application will…

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Hound Tor, Dartmoor, Devon by Bob Milton

Painting of Hound Tor, Dartmoor, Devon

July 13, 2012

We are pleased to offer this unique opportunity to own an original painting and thereby support the work of the Open Spaces Society. Our local correspondent, Bob Milton, has kindly offered his original painting of Hound Tor on Dartmoor, Devon, for auction to raise funds for the society. Please send sealed bids to: Ellen Froggatt,…

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Cornish common reclaimed

June 22, 2012

Carrine Common, near Kea, south of Truro in Cornwall has been reclaimed as registered common land, using legislation which is being pioneered in Cornwall (part 1 of the Commons Act 2006). Following a hearing in January 2012, planning inspector Mr Barney Grimshaw ruled that the land should be recorded on the commons register. Carrine Common…

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Unlawful track on Gloucestershire common

April 20, 2012

We have urged Gloucestershire County Council and Tewkesbury Borough Council to take legal action against a track which has been constructed on common land. The track is on Brockeridge Common, near Twyning, Tewkesbury. The landowner, Mr Ewan Reynolds, was refused planning permission but has built the track anyway, and the borough council has issued a…

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