Fencing rejected on Snettisham Common
The Secretary of State for Environment has refused an application for fencing on Snettisham Common in north Norfolk. Snettisham Parish Council, which owns the common, had applied for retrospective consent for two lengths of fencing on the common, one around the top of a sandpit and the other between the car-parking area and the picnic…
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Kent County Council to retain its country parks
We are delighted that Kent County Council (KCC) has decided not to sell its country parks, including Blue Bell Hill picnic site, near Burham on the North Downs. Last February the society objected in response to KCC’s public notice announcing its intention to dispose of the land at Blue Bell Hill. The society argued that…
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Fifty years since the start of commons registration
Fifty years ago today, on 2 January 1967, the commons and greens registers in England and Wales were opened, writes Kate Ashbrook. This was the start of a period of feverish activity for the Commons, Open Spaces and Footpaths Preservation Society, as we were then known. The registers were created following the Commons Registration Act…
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Make 2017 the Year of the Village Green
We have called on local authorities and developers throughout England and Wales to make 2017 the Year of the Village Green, by voluntary registering their land as greens. The society urges developers to include registered village greens within their sites so that local people have a guaranteed green space for recreation which is preserved for…
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We deplore Bristol Zoo’s selfish attitude towards the Downs
We have objected for the seventh time to Bristol Zoo’s application to use Bristol’s Downs for car-parking. The society has objected to this use since 1997 and each time the council has granted temporary permission. The current permission expires this month (December 2016). Before 1997 the zoo used the Downs for parking without seeking proper…
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We join the battle against Lake District pylons
We have joined the Friends of the Lake District and other objectors in fighting National Grid’s plan to erect gigantic pylons on the western boundary of the Lake District National Park. The pylons are part of the North West Coast Connections project. National Grid wants to impose them along the Whicham valley and around the…
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Margaret Bowdery, Berkshire path-campaigner
We are sorry to report the recent death of Margaret Bowdery, a long-standing member of the society who lived in Maidenhead. Margaret was so shocked at the state of the paths around Maidenhead when she moved here in 1964 that she called a public meeting and launched the East Berkshire Ramblers’ Group. She served as…
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Our campaign to save green spaces
We have launched our Save Our Spaces campaign, to tackle the mounting threats to public open spaces throughout England and Wales. We have written to our members to seek their support for our work in defending green spaces from the double whammy of neglect and commercial exploitation. In London, the society has helped Save Battersea…
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New threat of wind turbines in Cambrian Mountains
Powys County Council proposes to designate Local Search Areas (LSAs), where wind and solar generation will be encouraged. The result could be many wind turbines and other structures on the mountains of central Wales. The proposals are made in the county’s Local Development Plan on which the public’s views are sought. We have objected most strongly. …
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Forest of Dean Council rejects criminal sanctions on shepherds
We are delighted that Forest of Dean District Council’s has rejected the proposed measure to make so-called irresponsible shepherds into criminals. The council has decided, on the chairman’s casting vote, not to invoke its proposed Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) in the village of Bream, three miles north-west of Lydney in Gloucestershire. The council wishes…
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