Nature needs people
Our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, in her ‘Opinion’ in the autumn issue of Open Space, urges the government to recognise that nature cannot exist without people. ‘I have the best job in government’ declared environment minister Jenny Riddell-Carpenter MP to the Wild Summit on 9 September, in her first speech in her new role. We…
Planning reforms put parks and open spaces at risk
We have warned that the government’s ‘pro-growth’ planning agenda comes at the expense of social and environmental benefits. We believe that the government’s decisions on the statutory consultee system and National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), published on 17 August, will weaken protection for parks, gardens and open spaces. But the society also offers a welcome for new provisions to protect…
It’s time to complete unfinished business on commons and greens
Our call to government on the twentieth anniversary of landmark legislation We are marking the twentieth anniversary of the Commons Act 2006 by urging the government to complete the job this landmark legislation began for protecting these vital green areas. The Commons Act 2006 won royal assent on 19 July 2006. The society hailed the Act as…
What will government’s plans for nature provide for public access?
We have questioned what the government’s plan to protect 30 per cent of England for nature will do for public access. The society welcomes the government’s commitment to provide funding, particularly for protected landscapes, to restore nature, and notes that it also promises to ‘improve access to green space’. The government statement says that ‘the country’s new national forests are a key part of that’. Says…
Government compromises its green-space review
We are dismayed that the government has done a U-turn on the protection of green spaces during the passage of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill in the House of Lords. On 13 April the Minister for Housing and Local Government, Baroness Taylor of Stevenage, backed an opposition amendment which spelled out a procedure whereby local authorities which have failed to follow…
Our nine-point plan for the new Senedd
We have sent our nine-point plan for the new Senedd to our members in Wales to use when speaking to their candidates in the forthcoming election. Here is the manifesto. (Cymraeg yma) ________________________________________________ The opportunity for people to enjoy open spaces and paths, for their relaxation, health, well-being, and appreciation of nature, has never been…
Government drags feet on green-space review
A review of the laws protecting vital green spaces is urgently needed, yet despite a government promise last November to undertake this, nothing has happened. Meanwhile, the government has undermined its own promise by supporting an amendment (248) to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, due to be debated in the House of Lords on 13 April. …
Every-day access for all
The long-delayed access to nature green paper must address the gross inequalities in public contact with the outdoors, says our general secretary Kate Ashbrook. The green paper was announced in the government’s Environmental Improvement Plan in December 2025—but regrettably given no priority. Kate writes in her Opinion in the spring issue of Open Space, our…
We deplore proposed cut to statutory-planning advisors
We have slated plans by the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government (MHCLG) to strip powers from the Gardens Trust and Sport England, which are statutory consultees in the planning process. We say this poses a threat to vital green spaces throughout England. We were responding to MHCLG’s consultation on Reforms to the Statutory Consultee System. There are currently 27 bodies which are statutory…
We call for legislation to open Starmer’s love of walking to all
We are pressing the government for early legislation for access, and have written to the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, following his enthusiastic words about the value of walking and contact with nature. Says Kate Ashbrook, our general secretary: ‘We were encouraged to hear that the Prime Minister loves to go for a walk on…