Parks under unprecedented pressure
‘Our public parks are under unprecedented pressure, 50 years after a law which was intended to protect and improve the countryside close to people’s homes.’ So declared our vice-president, Paul Clayden, at our annual general meeting in London today (5 July). ‘This week [3 July] we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Countryside Act 1968,…
Read More
What tragedy?
This year is the fiftieth anniversary of an influential article which, wrongly, gave commons a bad name. In 1968 Science magazine published a paper called ‘The tragedy of the commons’ by biologist Garrett Hardin. Our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, explains. This was about the global population problem, in part inspired by an 1833 pamphlet by…
Read More
Campaign to reopen ancient Gloucestershire route
We are pressing Gloucestershire County Council to reopen the ancient Bentley Lane, which runs to the east of Southam village onto Cleeve Common. The lane has been blocked by gates since 2010. The old track is laid out in the Bishops Cleeve Inclosure Award of 1836 with a width of 30 feet. It leads directly…
Read More
Common-land swap defeated at Therfield Heath
With other objectors we are delighted to have defeated the proposed exchange of common land at Therfield Heath, near Royston in Hertfordshire. The Conservators of Therfield Heath and Greens wanted to swap 1.65 acres of common land off Sun Hill for the same area of woodland over a mile away. The proposed exchange was to…
Read More
Post-Brexit funding for farmers must include support for public access and common land
We have called for post-Brexit funding for agriculture to include support for public access to the countryside. The society has responded to the government’s consultation, Health and Harmony: the future for food, farming and the environment in a Green Brexit, a precursor to the Agriculture Bill. The government has said that public money must pay…
Read More
Eyesore rejected on much-loved Bridgend common
Welsh Ministers have rejected an application for timber posts on Pen Y Fai Common at Bridgend. The application for works on common land was made by Save Our Greenery, to prevent vehicles from parking on the common. The decision letter came from planning inspector Joanne Burston, on behalf of the Welsh ministers who determine applications…
Read More
Welsh Government confirms the importance of designated landscapes
On 13 March the Minister for the Environment in the Welsh Government, Hannah Blythyn, confirmed unequivocally ‘that all the existing designated landscapes will be retained and their purpose of conserving and enhancing natural beauty will not be weakened’. This came as a considerable relief to us because over the last few years the future of…
Read More
New village green at Camrose in Pembrokeshire
The Lambston Parish Residents’ Association in Camrose community, Pembrokeshire, is celebrating the registration of an open space in Sutton as a village green. The one-acre site, just to the west of Haverfordwest, has been enjoyed by local people for informal recreation and social events for decades. Since the owner is not known, the Lambston residents…
Read More
Powys wind-turbine inquiry imminent
On the eve of the public inquiry into Hendy Wind Farm’s appeal against Powys County Council’s refusal of planning permission for seven wind-turbines near Llandegley Rocks, we have renewed our call for rejection of the plans. We are backing the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales and many other organisations and individuals who oppose…
Read More
Fencing allowed on Betws Common, Ammanford
We are disappointed that Welsh ministers have approved an application from Betws Common Holdings for nearly one mile of new fences on Betws Common, near Ammanford in Carmarthenshire. Because the fence comprises works on common land which will prevent or impede access, the applicant needed the consent of Welsh Ministers under section 38 of the…
Read More