Here at the Open Spaces Society, we never stop fighting to protect the open spaces people love. Now more than ever, spending time in the outdoors is vital. That's why we're proud to tirelessly campaign for stronger protection for village greens, commons and footpaths.
Here are some of our most recent campaigns, initiatives, and successes.
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In the past year we have responded to more than
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Examples of our key recent successes:
- We welcomed the Planning Inspectorate’s decision to grant the society’s application to register as common approximately one third of a hectare of land in the village of Nesfield in North Yorkshire (just over two miles north-west of Ilkley).
- We made a host of recommendations to secure urban green spaces for public enjoyment which have since been published by the House of Commons' Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs Committee.
- We welcomed an inspector’s decision to refuse commons consent for works on Sneedhams Green in Gloucestershire. The society objected because the applicants failed to offer any new land to add to the common to replace what would be lost to the new access ways.
We have also:
- slated the government’s Growth Plan which we fear will damage the environment, public access, and local democracy and appears to conflict with the ambitions and targets of the Environment Act, and the 25-year environment plan.
- criticised the announcement from The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on the ‘levelling-up plan’ as a missed chance to rectify the gross inequality of access to local spaces
- given oral evidence to the House of Lords Committee investigating land use in England, calling for public access to be central to government thinking and for equality of access to green space.
- lobbied ministers to ensure that public access is included in the Environmental Land Management Schemes in England, and the Sustainable Farming Scheme in Wales.
- launched our lantern-slide website featuring almost 1,000 images from our archives held at The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL).
- joined the Better Planning Coalition to win improvements to the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill, to ensure that the planning system functions in a democratic way and ensures that communities are viable and sustainable.
- published the latest edition of Getting Greens Registered, our step-by-step guide to registering land in England and Wales as a town or village green.
- launched the seventh edition of Our Common Land by Paul Clayden, with revisions and updates reflecting the many changes in the law which have taken place since the previous edition in 2006.