Henley council rejects path discrimination
We have congratulated Henley Town Council on refusing to comply with Oxfordshire County Council’s plan to categorise local paths according to their use. Councillors, advised by the society, considered that this could lead to less-well-used paths being relegated so that they become obstructed and overgrown. The county council, the highway authority responsible for Oxfordshire’s public…
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Public hearing for Ealing’s Haven Green
The Friends of Haven Green and the Open Spaces Society are defending Haven Green (which is common land) at a hearing on Thursday 25 September. Ealing Council wants to widen a footway, erect temporary fencing, renew the footways and swap the land occupied by the old bus-layby, which will become common, for other land which…
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Saving an important route in Cwmcarn Forest, Caerphilly
Some months ago, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) made it known that as part of the plans to counteract the spread of Phytophthora ramorum (Larch disease) it would be felling all the larch trees in Cwmcarn Forest and closing the Forest Drive. Cwmcarn is alone in Wales in having a drive as well as cycling trails,…
Read MoreRailway-crossing path saved
The society and the Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes and West Middlesex Ramblers are delighted that they have helped to save a popular footpath which crosses the railway line just south of Griffin Lane, north-west Aylesbury. Network Rail, backed by Bucks County Council, wanted to close the path on alleged safety grounds. They intended that people would instead…
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Lettaford saga
Last May our member Sally Button contacted us for help in reopening the Mariners’ Way footpath through the hamlet of Lettaford, near North Bovey in the Dartmoor National Park. The path ran through the farmyard of High Lettaford Farm. About a month before the gate on the southern side of the property had been locked and…
Read MoreWe fight proposed wind turbine in Herefordshire
We have objected to an application for a wind turbine, access track, hard-standing, substation and temporary construction-compound in rural Herefordshire. The planning application has been submitted by g2 Energy Renewable Developments Ltd for a 77-metre-high turbine at Halfridge Farm, Pippins Hill, Acton Beauchamp. Our local correspondent, Peter Newman, has written to Herefordshire Council, the planning…
Read MoreDefeat of Somerset solar farm
We are delighted that a planning inspector has rejected plans for a solar farm. The development was proposed by MS Power Projects Ltd at Ritherdens, Rumwell, on three fields about a kilometre west of Taunton in Somerset. Taunton Deane Borough Council’s planning committee overturned the officer’s recommendation and refused planning permission, but the developers appealed…
Read MoreWe slate Caerphilly Council
We have criticised Caerphilly County Borough Council for claiming that its legal duties to maintain public paths are merely discretionary. The council’s online survey on its budget, ‘help us to shape your services’, asks for the public’s views on what it calls ‘discretionary services’ It includes in these ‘Country parks, including public rights of way…
Read MoreHave you walked the Mariners’ Way at Lettaford, North Bovey, Devon?
We are helping our member Sally Button over a dispute concerning the public footpath (also the Mariners’ Way) through Lettaford. This is an ancient farm at North Bovey near Moretonhampstead, Devon (postcode TQ13 8RH). It appears that the definitive map is in error because the definitive route of footpath 6 is blocked by an ancient…
Read MoreGating plan for rural lane in Warwickshire
The society and the Warwickshire Ramblers have objected to a plan by Warwickshire County Council to put a locked gate across Tinkers Lane, Lapworth, south of the M40. The council has consulted us about making a gating order to reduce alleged crime and anti-social behaviour. We strongly oppose this because they have seen no evidence…
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