Our justice system undermined
Over the last 157 years, the Open Spaces Society has taken pride in successfully using the courts to rectify wrongs affecting commons, greens, other open spaces, and public paths. We also back our members in their legal actions. Now, the Westminster government’s Judicial Review and Courts Bill is set to have a profoundly detrimental effect…
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A step up for England’s protected landscapes
The government has, at last, announced its response to the Landscapes Review in England. The review, led by journalist Julian Glover, was published in September 2019, more than two years ago, and made ambitious recommendations for the future of our national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty. In his foreword to the response Defra…
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Parks for ever
Simon Hunt, one of our trustees and the former chair of the Friends of Finsbury Park, reflects on the increasing importance of open spaces in the context of the pandemic and climate crisis. On 23 March 2020 the public was told to stay at home. Shops, pubs, gyms, theatres, cafes and restaurants were closed, and…
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Give us back our green
We have called for the return to public use of Market Green[1] in Water Orton, Warwickshire which, we say, unlawfully has been closed off to recreational use. The owner of the land, Star Pubs and Bars Ltd,[2] has applied to the Secretary of State to remove the status of the land as town or village…
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We back bid for new greens in Battle, East Sussex
We are backing our member, Mr Bev Marks, who is spearheading a campaign to protect Battle’s green spaces for ever, by registering them as town or village greens. Bev has proposed to Battle Town Council that it persuade the owners of four green spaces voluntarily to register them as greens. The spaces have been earmarked…
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The Environment Act—a mixed bag
Our case officer, Nicola Hodgson, analyses the new Environment Act and finds it wanting. While we welcome the new Environment Act, we consider it to be a missed opportunity for public health and well-being. We tried to win legally-binding targets for public access but the government rejected our proposed amendments. The act gives many more…
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Budget does nothing for public access
We are deeply disappointed by the government’s budget, announced on 27 October. We had hopes that it would fund more and better public access, in town and country, in recognition of the effect of the pandemic which has made everyone appreciate the value of outdoor recreation for health and well-being. The government, in its flagship…
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Our general secretary opens Nottingham’s historic town trail
On Sunday 26 September our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, will open Nottingham’s Victorian Town Trail. The five-mile route has been devised by the Friends of the Forest with Nottingham City Council to mark and celebrate the 130 acres of open space won by the people of Nottingham when land was inclosed under the Inclosure Act…
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Winter Hill trespass a milestone, but still a long way to go
The Winter Hill mass demo in 1896 was a milestone in the history of public access—but we still have a long way to go.’ So declares our general secretary Kate Ashbrook, who will speak on 5 September at the 125th anniversary event of the Winter Hill mass trespass. Kate also spoke at the centenary event…
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We join Worthing Downlanders to celebrate public-access victory
Five years on, campaigners celebrated the success of open access to Worthing’s incomparable downland in the South Downs National Park. They held a reunion rally on Sunday 15 August and made a video which includes our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook. We backed the Worthing Downlanders’ campaign from 2009 to 2015, firstly to stop Worthing Borough…
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