Latest News

Slow the traffic on unfenced commons

October 5, 2012

We have called for a universal speed-limit of 40 mph where unfenced roads cross common land. The society has responded to a consultation from the Department for Transport on the revision of its speed-limit circular. The Department favours a speed limit of 40 mph for roads ‘with a predominantly local, access or recreational function’ and…

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Rights of Way: Restoring the Record

October 3, 2012

Want to check historic rights on a track but don’t know where to start? Need to find extra evidence before a public inquiry? Worried about your first visit to an archive office? Experienced, but just want to check which Act authorised which activities? Then you need Rights of Way: Restoring the Record, the new research…

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Brutal turbines of Mynydd y Gwair common

October 1, 2012

We have objected strongly to a planning application from RWE npower to site 16 wind turbines, with tracks and infrastructure, on Mynydd y Gwair common, a majestic hillside eight miles north of Swansea. There have been a number of turbine applications here in the past to which the society has objected. This is registered common…

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Disappointing fencing decision for Hednesford Hills

September 25, 2012

We are disappointed that the Secretary of State for Environment has approved an application for fencing on Hednesford Hills Common on the north-east side of Cannock in Staffordshire. We objected to this application, along with the British Horse Society and individuals. Cannock Chase Council applied to erect permanent stockproof fencing around two areas of the…

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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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Manège would suburbanise South Downs countryside

September 17, 2012

We have objected to a planning application for a manège at Sparkes Farm next to Ebernoe Common, three miles north of Petworth in West Sussex. The development comes hot on the heels of other planning applications at this site, for a stable complex and barn. The application is in the South Downs National Park and…

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Common ground not battleground

September 12, 2012

Article published on Headline Environment website, On the Agenda, 11 September 2012   Commons are unique and precious places to be treasured by all, says Kate Ashbrook, of the Open Spaces Society, as she welcomes the publication of a revised version of A Common Purpose. Kate Ashbrook writes: Common land has for centuries been a…

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Lambeth Council rejects Sky One TV’s domes on Clapham Common

September 12, 2012

Lambeth’s planning committee last night (11 September) rejected the application for a domed development on Clapham Common for Sky One TV’s ‘Got to Dance’.  The domes were erected before the planning application was even considered by Lambeth Council.  The councillors’ rejection was contrary to the officers’ recommendation of approval. The domes, with fencing, portacabins and…

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Ibstone Common, Buckinghamshire

Government’s rural statement underplays vital role of paths and spaces

September 12, 2012

‘The government should invest in public paths and green spaces to achieve its aim of improving the rural economy,’ says our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook commenting on the government’s Rural Statement published today (12 September).  ‘By underplaying the role of these vital assets government misses a massive trick.’ ‘There is a brief mention in the…

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Go-ahead for development beside Swansea common

September 11, 2012

We are disappointed that Carrington Moore Estates, in which the former Welsh rugby captain Andy Moore has an interest, has obtained planning consent for development adjoining Picket Mead Common at Newton, Swansea. The battle has raged over many years, but finally Carrington won its appeal to Welsh Ministers against Swansea Council’s refusal of planning consent. The…

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