Plymouth City Council reverses decision to build on Wilmot Gardens
We are delighted that the high court has quashed Plymouth City Council’s decision to build five houses on Wilmot Gardens, a popular open space in Crownhill. The society gave financial support to local campaigners fighting to save this space. Unusually, when faced with court action from Frank Hartkopf, on behalf of local people, the council…
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Last chance for Dartmoor backpack-camping rights
The final hearing on the Dartmoor backpack camping case is tomorrow (8 October) in the supreme court. The case, between landowners Alexander and Diana Darwall and the Dartmoor National Park Authority, has previously been heard in the high court and the court of appeal. Now it goes to the supreme court for final determination. The…
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An update on the Dartmoor backpack-camping appeal
The court of appeal hearing of Dartmoor National Park Authority and Open Spaces Society v Darwall was on 18 July, and can be watched here. Our aim was to overturn the ruling of Sir Julian Flaux in the high court in January that the term ‘open-air recreation’ in section 10 of the Dartmoor Commons Act…
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Wild camping on Dartmoor—the need to appeal
Update: An agreement is being reached between Dartmoor National Park Authority and the landowners to enable people to keep wild camping in Dartmoor National Park without landowners’ permission. While the agreement is welcome and we are pleased the landowners have stepped up, it goes nowhere far enough to meet wild campers’ needs. It is essential…
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Café on Bristol’s Downs
We are dismayed that councillors in Bristol have approved plans for a café on the city’s glorious downs, close to the Avon Gorge. We have called for radical reform of the nineteenth-century Downs Committee, which put forward the plans. Bristol’s iconic sea-walls are a wholly inappropriate site for a café. It will spoil the view…
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