We slate boozy event on Acton Green common
We have objected to an application from Carsten Raun to hold a German beer-festival on Acton Green common, Ealing, for five days this August. Ealing Council has written to local residents to say that it intends to allow this. We argue that the Oktoberfest is unlawful under the Greater London Parks and Open Spaces Order…
Read More
Pull the plug on motor race in Battersea Park
We are calling for the immediate withdrawal of a planning application to hold a damaging motor race in a park of national status. The proposal to restage the Formula E race in Grade II*-listed Battersea Park close to central London has sparked hundreds of objections, but Wandsworth Council planners have published their recommendation to approve…
Read More
We fight devastation of south Wales common
We have objected to plans by Miller Argent to enclose parts of Gelligaer and Merthyr common in Caerphilly, to dig six million tonnes of coal from the Nant Llesg mine. Because this affects common land, the company needs the consent of Welsh ministers for works on the common in addition to any planning consent. The…
Read More
Our 150th anniversary year
We have had plenty of activities to celebrate our 150th anniversary year, as Britain’s oldest national conservation body. Here are some highlights. Every day we have celebrated an event in our long history with our Tweet of the Day. These are listed here. We published two books, Saving Open Spaces and Common Land. A third, Village…
Read MoreForays into Scotland
As we researched events in our 150-year history, for the 365 ‘tweets of the day‘ during 2015, we came across two occasions when we had wandered north of the border. The first was recorded in our Reports of Proceedings 1891, with the heading ‘Dumbarton Common’. This considerable area of land was set apart by Act of Parliament…
Read MoreWe fight fencing on national park common
We have objected to an application to erect more than half a mile of fencing on Westerdale Common in the North York Moors National Park. The Graziers of High Blakey Moor have applied to the Planning Inspectorate for consent for the fence on common land to prevent sheep straying. The fence is on open country…
Read More
We back new vision for Cambrian Mountains
‘We need a new vision for the Cambrian Mountains to ensure their protection.’ So said Kate Ashbrook, our general secretary, guest speaker at the annual general meeting of the Cambrian Mountains Society in Llandrindod Wells on Saturday (31 October). ‘It is outrageous that these splendid, inspiring landscapes have no overall protection and have to rely…
Read More
Only ten years left to record our public paths
‘There are only ten years left before we could lose thousands of public highways.’ So warned Phil Wadey, our vice-chairman, at a meeting organised by the Gatliff Trust in London on 24 October. Phil is an expert in recording public paths on the definitive maps of rights of way. Says Phil: ‘On 1 January 2026,…
Read More
150th anniversary of Nottingham Forest recreation ground’s inclosure oak
On Sunday, 18 October, we joined Nottingham citizens in celebrating 150 years of the Nottingham Forest recreation ground. In the year of the Open Spaces Society’s foundation, 1865, the first oak-tree, the Inclosure Oak, was planted close to the Mansfield Road entrance to the Forest recreation ground. This was to celebrate the grant of 122 acres of…
Read More
A visit to Ashtead Common
The Open Spaces Society has had a strong connection with the City of London Corporation all through its history, and we helped the city acquire many of its open spaces: Hampstead Heath, Epping Forest, Burnham Beeches and the Coulsdon Commons. It was therefore fitting that, as one of our 150th anniversary events, we should visit…
Read More