Open Spaces Society marks centenary of important law for common land
Today (29 June) the Open Spaces Society, Britain’s leading pressure group for common land(1),celebrates the centenary of the Law of Property Act 1922. Thanks to the efforts of the society, the bill was amended in parliament to give the public rights to walk and ride on certain commons, and protect commons from enclosure and encroachment.…
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An interview with the IASC
Our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, recently spoke to the International Association for the Study of the Commons to give a history of Open Spaces Society and our work. The article below appeared in the IASC newsletter. I am Kate Ashbrook, and have been the general secretary (chief executive) of the Open Spaces Society since 1984. …
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Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill
The Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill (the bill) was introduced into parliament on 11 May 2022. The second reading will take place on 8 June. The stated ambition of the bill is to reverse the geographical disparities between different parts of the UK by spreading opportunity more equally. The bill includes a broad range of measures…
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Criminalising bottles on the beach at Whitstable, Kent
We have criticised a draft public spaces protection order [1] for Whitstable [2] in Kent which will make criminals of many of its residents and visitors. Canterbury City Council has consulted on a draft order which would apply to the ‘Whitstable and Herne Bay Coastal Zone’. It would create new criminal offences to address activities having…
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Blackbushe aerodrome remains a common
We have welcomed the decision of the supreme court not to grant leave to appeal against a decision that Blackbushe aerodrome should remain registered as common land. The aerodrome lies on Yateley Common in Hampshire. It was established as a temporary wartime measure.[1] It is now operated by Blackbushe Airport Limited (BAL). Yateley Common,…
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‘Natural Health Service’ proposed by access campaigners on anniversary of Kinder trespass
Access campaigners have called for a new movement to campaign for a ‘Natural Heath Service’ through greater access to our countryside. The proposal was presented at the 90th anniversary celebrations of the Kinder Scout Mass Trespass at Hayfield on Saturday (April 23). Kate Ashbrook, our general secretary, told a packed audience in The Royal Hotel:…
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Herefordshire’s historic Boat Lane, near Ross-On-Wye, is now on the map
We are delighted that the ancient Boat Lane, in the parishes of Goodrich and Walford south of Ross-on-Wye, has been added to Herefordshire Council’s definitive map of public paths, after a 20-year campaign. The route was claimed in 2003 by the society’s former local correspondent for south Herefordshire, Owen Morgan. He argued that the lane…
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Our new guide to saving green spaces
We have published a new edition of Getting Greens Registered, our step-by-step guide to registering land in England and Wales as a town or village green. Once registered, the land is protected from development and encroachment, and local people have rights of recreation there. The new (fourth) edition explains how local people must gather evidence…
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How to use MAGIC
Do you want to know about the location of sites of special scientific interest, the distance between two places on a road or footpath, registered common land boundaries or to measure the area of a plot of land – we could go on? But the answer is almost certainly to be found in MAGIC. MAGIC…
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Insider hacks: Public access and rights of way guidance the Government doesn’t want you to see
The Government has progressively reduced the amount of information available to the public on the web. Sometimes it has done this by rewriting guidance so that it is easier to understand — but sometimes it has just removed guidance altogether, either because it thinks there is insufficient interest, or because no-one is left to update…
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