Decisions for Haven Green common, Ealing
Our member, the Friends of Haven Green (FoHG), is pleased to report two decisions from the Planning Inspectorate concerning Haven Green, Ealing. The first stems from last September’s public inquiry into Ealing Council’s planned changes to the green in preparation for Crossrail. These would have widened the pavements, and created a counter-flow cycle lane on the east…
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Thames Path to be consigned to a rat run in Maidenhead
We are angry that the Thames Path National Trail is to follow Maidenhead’s Ray Mead Road rat run. On Wednesday 11 February Windsor and Maidenhead Borough’s planning committee approved the creation of a short footpath along Ray Mead Road instead of a riverside route for the Thames Path National Trail. The council had applied to…
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Lake District fencing plan conflicts with special Act of Parliament
We believe that plans by United Utilities for 10 kilometres of fencing above Thirlmere in the heart of the Lake District National Park conflict with a special law for the area. Because the land is common, UU has applied for consent to the Planning Inspectorate for works on common land. The society believes that the…
Read MoreRetrospective application for works on Cornish common
We have objected to a retrospective application for works on Pendarves Woods Common, a mile south-west of Camborne in Cornwall. The application from Mr Robert Weedon is for part of a sand-school, parking areas and track, fuel pumps and tank, and post-and-rail fencing. The works were constructed over a period since 2008. Before anyone can…
Read MoreWe fight land swap for Beverley’s ancient common
We have objected to plans by the East Riding of Yorkshire Council to swap land on Beverley Westwood Common for a site at Fishwick Mill, to the eastern border of the common. Because commons are special, the law (section 16 of the Commons Act 2006) requires that suitable exchange land is provided when a common…
Read MoreWelsh Committee calls for better protection for village greens in Planning Bill
We are delighted that a National Assembly for Wales Committee is calling for better protection of village greens. The report of the Environment and Sustainability Committee, which is scrutinising the Planning (Wales) Bill, states that ‘the provisions of the Bill in relation to town and village greens, as currently drafted, have caused us some concern’.…
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Common landscapes
Today a taskgroup of 27 organisations launches its report Landscapes for Everyone (see below) in parliament, calling on politicians to champion our unique British landscapes. We shall be there. Our special message is that we must look after the 2,212 square miles of common land in England and Wales. Do this and we secure a…
Read MoreThomas Hardy would breathe a sigh of relief
We are delighted that Kingston Maurward College has withdrawn its plans to build 70 houses on parkland at Thomas Hardy’s hamlet of Lower Bockhampton, Dorset. Hardy was born at nearby Higher Bockhampton in 1840. The society was among hundreds of objectors to the development, including the Ramblers, the Thomas Hardy Society and the Lower Bockhampton…
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Pressure groups fight fencing plan in Lake District’s wilderness
We are backing our member the Friends of the Lake District in fighting a plan by United Utilities to erect fencing on common land in the heart of the Lake District National Park. United Utilities has applied to erect nearly ten kilometres of new fencing at the South Western end of Thirlmere, enclosing 866 hectares…
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New call for Thames Path riverside route
We have objected to a planning application from Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council to create a short footpath along Ray Mead Road, Maidenhead, instead of a riverside route for the Thames Path National Trail. The council has applied to create a footway along Ray Mead Road, extending an existing footpath by about 17 metres with…
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