Signed, sealed, delivered! Public footpaths signposted in memory of Gloucestershire benefactor
Gloucestershire County Council’s public rights of way team has recently completed the replacement and repair of numerous footpath signs in parishes around Cheltenham. These include Andoversford, Sevenhampton, Stoke Orchard and Winchcombe. The work was made possible by the Bradbury Bequest, a fund which was established in 1959 on the death of Herbert Lucas Bradbury, a…
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We welcome Welsh Government’s proposals for greater access rights
We are delighted that the Welsh Government is proposing an increase in public-access opportunities in Wales. The society has responded to the Welsh Government’s consultation, ‘Taking Forward Wales’s Sustainable Management of Natural Resources’. Chapter 4 is about access to the outdoors. We welcome proposals for legal access to coast and cliff and for greater access…
Read MoreDate on which orders under section 119 of the Highways Act 1980 come into effect
Herefordshire Council made a diversion order for Lyonshall footpath LZ3 (part) which was contested and went to the Planning Inspectorate (PINS). After written representations the order was confirmed. The Open Spaces Society subsequently wrote to PINS to point out that the inspector had confirmed a defective order. We considered the order to be defective in…
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Walkers urge Wycombe councillors not to close important town-path
We are dismayed that Wycombe District Council officers are recommending to the High Wycombe Town Committee on 3 October that it should support the closure of part of a valuable footpath in the town centre. This is despite objections from influential organisations representing walkers. The Town Committee makes a recommendation to the Cabinet Member for…
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We call for duty on local authorities to protect parks and green spaces
We are concerned that public parks are increasingly threatened by commercial activities and that the government’s response to the House of Commons’ Communities and Local Government Select Committee report into the future of parks and green spaces does not adequately address this. The society had argued to the committee that it should recommend a statutory…
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We welcome greenspace plan for Kendal’s New Road common
STOP PRESS 31 AUGUST 2017: We are pleased to report that on 30 August the South Lakeland District Council’s cabinet unanimously approved the scheme for the restoration of New Road Common. We are delighted that South Lakeland District Council in Cumbria proposes to reinstate Kendal’s New Road common as a green space. For many years this…
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Enjoying access to the outdoors in Wales
We have a rare opportunity to influence the laws and practices for public paths and access land in Wales. The Welsh Government is consulting on access to the outdoors in chapter 4 of its document Taking Forward Wales’ Sustainable Management of Natural Resources. The closing date for responses is 30 September, and anyone may respond.…
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We fight Northampton Council’s plan to dispose of vital open space
The society has objected to Northampton Borough Council’s plan to dispose of open space at Lancaster Way in Northampton. The council has advertised its intention to sell the land and is required to consider any representations (under section 123 of the Local Government Act 1972). The council wants to use the open space on the…
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Our general secretary to open White Cliffs Walking Festival
Our general secretary Kate Ashbrook, who is also vice-president of the Ramblers and patron of the Walkers Are Welcome Towns Network, is to open the White Cliffs Walking Festival in Kent on Thursday 24 August. The launch event is at 10am on 24 August at Walmer Green, next to the lifeboat station (postcode CT14 7DY,…
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Commons conference in Utrecht
In July our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, went to the biennial conference of the International Association for the Study of the Commons (IASC) in Utrecht in the Netherlands. Here she describes some of her experiences. This was the 16th biennial, global conference of the IASC, and my fifth. It was organised by the University of…
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