Support us from £3/month
We deal with almost 1000 cases a year assisting communities, groups and individuals in protecting their local spaces and paths in all parts of England and Wales. Can you help us by joining as a member?
We have appointed Chas Townley as our local correspondent for Stroud District in Gloucestershire.
Chas Townley on Rodborough Common
Chas lives in Stroud and is a retired social-housing manager and former Stroud District and Town councillor. He has been working on the registration of unrecorded rights of ways in Stroud and surrounding parishes. As a result, 27 applications have been made to add paths to the definitive map, and three public path agreements have been made with landowners.
Now he will be able to put that knowledge to good use on behalf of the Open Spaces Society, alongside the society’s correspondent in the Cotswold District, Gerry Stewart.
Says Chas: ‘Good access to outdoor recreation is essential for mental and physical health, so it is essential, for current and future generations, that our rich heritage of paths, commons, and greens is protected.
‘One aspect of the society’s work I want to explore, in partnership with parish and town councils, is the extent to which the owners of open space can be persuaded voluntarily to register it as village or town green under the society’s Grant a Green campaign. Then the land is protected from development, and local people have rights of recreation there for ever.’
In his spare time, Chas is a keen walker and local historian.