Lin Ostrom, commons champion (1933-2012)
We are deeply saddened at the death of international commons champion and Nobel prizewinner Elinor (Lin) Ostrom on 12 June. Lin was the first and only woman to win the Nobel prize for economics. This was in 2009 for her ground-breaking work on commons. She challenged the popular notion, ‘Tragedy of the commons’, that depletion…
Read MoreCommons Training Day
We will be running a training day with Footprint Ecology on Wednesday 27 June which is designed to help land managers and others with an interest in commons to understand their rights and responsibilities and how to go about preparing for, and taking forward, management planning and works on common land. It will be run…
Read MoreProtect the common land at Mumbles Pier
Swansea Council has granted planning consent to Amusement Equipment Ltd (Ameco) for the demolition of the existing storage shed and construction of a site office for Mumbles Pier. We objected to this because not only would the development suburbanise this attractive coastal area, but it was on registered common land and any works here would…
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Wealden woodland saved from private car-park plans
Wealden District Council has thrown out plans to build a private, gated car-park on the summit of Crowborough Common in East Sussex. On 31 May nine members of the planning committee voted against Crowborough Beacon Golf Club’s proposals. The Open Spaces Society, Save Our Common and the Ramblers’ High Weald Walkers Group were among the…
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Give more recognition to Wales’s unique common land
The society is concerned that the Welsh Government’s Green Paper, Sustaining a Living Wales, pays insufficient regard to the nation’s superb common land and landscape, and people’s ability to enjoy it. The society has submitted a robust response to the consultation paper, calling for greater recognition of these important features. Says David Bateman, our spokesman…
Read MorePlanning protection for commons and greens in Wales
In our response to the consultation Planning for Sustainability, we have called on the Welsh Government to give extra protection to commons and village greens during the planning process. We propose a compulsory question on the planning-application form, to ask whether the application will affect any common or village green. If the answer is yes,…
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West Sussex takes a lead in protecting commons and greens
We have congratulated West Sussex County Council for taking a lead in helping all the planning authorities in its area to take account of registered common land and village greens when considering planning applications. West Sussex has offered all the districts its most up-to-date GIS data layer for commons and greens which would enable the…
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We call for new Wales body to focus on commons, spaces and paths
We have called for the new single environmental body in Wales to focus on common land, open spaces and public paths. The society has responded to the Welsh Government’s consultation paper, Natural Resources Wales. This invites views on the arrangements for establishing and directing a new body for the management of Wales’s natural resources, by…
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Chorleywood Common
Chorleywood Common is an amazing place. Within a mile of the M25 and surrounded by roads and railways, it survives as a wild oasis, breathtakingly lovely with its wide open spaces and mixed woodland. It is a reminder, in miniature, of our pre-inclosure landscapes. It is enjoyed by walkers and riders, residents and visitors of…
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Spotlight on commons
BBC Radio 4 Farming Today is this week shining the spotlight on our common land. In every programme from 30 April to 4 May there is an interview about commons and their role in present-day society. The OSS was featured on Chorleywood Common, Hertfordshire, on Friday 4 May, discussing the parish council’s contentious fencing scheme…
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