Victory for Kent coastland
Kent County Council has resolved to register land adjacent to Barnes car-park on Westbrook Promenade, near Margate in Kent, as a village green. We backed our member WASPS (Westbrook Against Selling Promenade Site) led by Tony Sykes, in its bid to secure rights for local people to enjoy this land for recreation, as well as…
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Industrialisation of The Canyons, Torfaen
We have objected to an application from Peakman Ltd to develop Mynydd Llanhilleth Common, near Abertillery in Torfaen, south Wales. Peakman wants to build a new haul road, widen the existing Cefn Crib road and erect fencing on the common to enable it to extract aggregates from the nearby quarry. Because the works affect common…
Read MoreDisused railway should be village green for Llanmorlais
The community of Llanmorlais, a small village seven miles west of Swansea, could see a strip of disused railway confirmed as their village green after a public inquiry in March. James Matthews, an Open Spaces Society member, has made the application after villagers completed evidence of their uninterrupted use of the land for 20 years.…
Read MoreWellow path safe
With the Ramblers’ Association, we have saved a path at Wellow, five miles south of Bath, from being moved to an inferior route. This follows a public inquiry held on 2 November into Bath and North East Somerset Council’s (BANES) plans to move the path. The existing route runs from Bull’s Hill south to join…
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Horsted Keynes footpath is saved
A popular footpath at Horsted Keynes, four miles north-east of Haywards Heath in West Sussex, has been saved on its existing route. West Sussex County Council backed the landowner, Miss Wykeham-Martin, in her application to move the footpath, number 8/1, which runs across three fields at Lucas Farm to the edge of two of them.…
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Plan to sacrifice Lyde Green common withdrawn
We are delighted that NORFT Ltd has withdrawn its controversial plan to sacrifice Lyde Green Common near Pucklechurch, north-east of Bristol, and replace it with inferior land some distance away. NORFT, the owner of the common, had applied to the Planning Inspectorate to deregister and exchange Lyde Green. The Open Spaces Society, Emersons Green Town…
Read MoreBlocked path reopened at Charlcombe, Bath
A blocked path at Valley View Road, Charlcombe, near Bath has been reopened, following pressure from the society. Supporting a local member, we mobilised the local councillor and the Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) Council’s parks department and public rights of way department. The path, which leads to the allotments and a local football…
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We welcome greenspace plan for Kendal’s New Road common
STOP PRESS 31 AUGUST 2017: We are pleased to report that on 30 August the South Lakeland District Council’s cabinet unanimously approved the scheme for the restoration of New Road Common. We are delighted that South Lakeland District Council in Cumbria proposes to reinstate Kendal’s New Road common as a green space. For many years this…
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Dismay at Derbyshire’s cuts to the rights-of-way service
We are disappointed that Derbyshire County Council is likely to go ahead with its proposed cuts to the rights-of-way budget, following a controversial consultation in the summer. These cuts could result in the loss of up to three staff and the extension of target times for resolving path complaints, so that it could take up…
Read MoreLand swap for Runton Common
We are disappointed that the Planning Inspectorate has agreed to a land swap at Runton Common, west of Cromer on the north Norfolk coast, to enable Norfolk County Council to carry out highway improvements on the C293 Station Road over the railway. Because Norfolk County Council is to take, by compulsory purchase, registered common land…
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