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…
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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. …
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Public rights on green spaces to be expunged?
An amendment[1] to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, due to be debated in the House of Lords on Monday 3 November, aims to remove long-standing public rights on green spaces when the land is sold by a local authority. We are urging peers to oppose it. The amendment would make it much easier for local…
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We call for government land-use plan to include public access
We have criticised the government’s proposed Land-Use Framework for failing to address public access. While the society welcomes the plan to produce a framework, and recognises the complexities of doing so, it notes that the government’s proposal is geared to protecting farmland and food security, and does not consider the role of land in accommodating,…
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Access at the heart of land-use policy
On 4 July our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, and the Ramblers director of advocacy and engagement, Tom Platt, gave evidence to the House of Lords Land Use in England Committee. They focused on the many benefits of greater public access, its lack of a home in government, and the potential for access to be central to…
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