End the scandal of secret paths in Wales
Fifty years on from the Countryside Act 1968, which required local authorities to signpost a public path where it leaves a road, many paths still lack signposts. We are calling for an end to this scandal. Join Open Spaces Society and add your voice to our ongoing battle. The society and the Ramblers were responsible…
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Better access in Wales?
Deputy Minister for Housing and Local Government, Hannah Blythyn, has made an announcement about improving public access in Wales. This follows the government’s consultation in 2017 to which there were more than 16,000 responses. The minister extols the benefits of an accessible countryside and the importance of supporting rural areas to maximise revenue from tourism.…
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Make OSS your Amazon Smile Charity Beneficiary
AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support Open Spaces Society every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.co.uk, you’ll find the same Amazon prices, selection and convenient shopping experience, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to the charity…
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Campaign to Double the Number of School Children Enjoying our National Parks
Although over 60,000 school children visit the national parks each year, the government has long promised increases to this number. The Society, as a member of a coalition of five charities including Campaign for National Parks and with celebrity support, has now demanded urgent action to more than double the number of school children who…
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Fylingdales fencing plan rejected
We are delighted that a proposal for fencing across splendid moorland in the North York Moors National Park has been rejected. Planning inspector Martin Elliott has refused consent to the Manor of Fyling Court Leat, to erect over five kilometres of fencing on Fylingdales Moor. The applicant wanted to graze livestock there, but was deterred…
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Getty Gives In And Withdraws Application To Fence Public Bridleway
Mr Tara Getty, grandson of oil tycoon John Paul Getty, has withdrawn his controversial planning application for deer fencing alongside and across a public bridleway, making the route appear private. The bridleway runs past Mr Getty’s Twigside Farm at Ibstone, in the heart of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Mr Getty wanted to…
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Call For Speed Limits On Common Land
We have called for enforced speed-limits on unfenced roads across common land in national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty. We made this plea in our evidence to the government’s review of England’s national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONBs), led by Julian Glover. The society emphasises the need to slow traffic…
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Norfolk Path Recognised As A Route For Riders, Cyclists And Carriage Drivers
A route at Trunch in North Norfolk, which was recorded as a public footpath, has recently been confirmed as a restricted byway with rights for riders, cyclists and carriage drivers as well as walkers. Postle’s Lane, Trunch – south end with signpost Ian Witham, our local correspondent in Norfolk, discovered evidence to show that the 500-metre Postle’s Lane, in…
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Seventieth Anniversary Of ‘A People’s Charter’
This year we celebrate the seventieth anniversary of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. Our general secretary Kate Ashbrook, explains what it achieved. This is not just a Bill. It is a people’s charter—a people’s charter for the open air, for the hikers and the ramblers, for everyone who lives to…
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Threat Of Deer Fencing Across Public Path In Chilterns AONB
We have objected to a planning application from Tara Getty for deer fencing alongside and across a public bridleway. The route runs past Mr Getty’s Twigside Farm at Ibstone, in the heart of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Tara Getty is grandson of oil tycoon, J Paul Getty. The Open Spaces Society, Buckinghamshire…
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