Our five-point plan for 2025
In our recent new-year message we were pleased to set out our top five campaign aims for 2025. We’re calling for: Lost commons to be registerable throughout England. Currently they can only be registered in Cumbria and North Yorkshire, yet landowners can apply to deregister commons throughout England, which is grossly unfair. A mandate on…
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Bring on Wales’s new national park
We strongly support the new national park in north-east Wales. The society believes that the national park designation will benefit the splendid, varied landscape of this region, its wildlife and culture, and will help to promote responsible public access and enjoyment. However, it has also called for the Welsh government to make sufficient funds available…
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Mega-development on Kilvey Hill, Swansea, would cut a hole in a Persian carpet
We have objected strongly to the amended planning application from Swansea Skyline to convert Kilvey Hill, east of Swansea, into a commercial tourist-site. The society considers the hill to be a much-loved local gem, which should not be sacrificed for mega-tourism. The proposed development would comprise, among other structures, gondola stations and chairlift infrastructure for…
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Green-space neglect in government’s new policies
We are deeply concerned at the direction taken by the government’s revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Our case officer Nicola Hodgson has responded to the consultation on the revised policy. You can read Nicola’s full response here. ‘The government has not proposed any significant changes to the NPPF to support the creation and protection…
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A summer of celebration for new village greens in Havering
Earlier this year, we were delighted when Havering Council formally agreed to adopt five new village greens which it had previously identified as much-needed sites across the borough. This summer, the council is celebrating the new sites with a series of event and dedications over the coming weeks. The first of these events, which local…
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Public access to green space must be priority for new government
‘Public access to good-quality green spaces must be a priority for the new government.’ So declared our chairman Phil Wadey at the society’s annual general meeting held on the day of the general election. ‘We stand ready with suggestions for the government to improve access to, and enjoyment of, green spaces and paths in town…
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We fight new threat to Brent River Park, Ealing
We have objected to an application from Ealing Council to erect a massive leisure-centre with residential development and other infrastructure in Brent River Park in Ealing. The society is concerned that the development will take a bite out of the Brent River Park, destroying metropolitan open land (MOL) and public open space (POS). It argues…
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Urban green space report misses trick
We have welcomed the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s letter to the Defra secretary, Stephen Barclay, with its findings on its inquiry into urban green spaces. The committee concluded that ‘these vital parts of communities are under serious threat’ and in need of urgent action to reverse their national decline, despite their immense environmental…
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Backpack camping: Dartmoor National Park Authority to appeal
We are delighted that the Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA) members have unanimously agreed to appeal against the high court judgment on the Dartmoor backpack camping case. The owners of Stall Moor common. Alexander and Diana Darwall, challenged the DNPA’s argument that the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985, in giving the public the right to walk…
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New green at Long Ditton, Surrey
We are delighted that Elmbridge Borough Council in Surrey has voluntarily registered Stokes Field, Long Ditton, as a village green. This follows a long campaign by the society. Comprising about eight hectares of mixed woodland, open grassland and scrub intersected by numerous paths, the land is also a Local Nature Reserve. After Elmbridge Council’s consultants…
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