Urbanisation of unspoilt Herefordshire countryside
We have objected to further plans by Bolderstone Innovative Energy Ltd to create new access to the Reeves Hill wind turbines on the prominent Herefordshire hilltop, close to the border with Powys. The four wind-turbines were given planning permission in 2012 but there are still outstanding issues to resolve. The proposed new access road is…
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Riverside path at Purfleet re-opens after nearly 20 years
After nearly 20 years of obstruction, the riverside path at Purfleet, which leads to Grays, has re-opened following action by keen Thames-side walker and Open Spaces Society member Chris Smith. Chris was pleased to have the support of the OSS and the Ramblers. The path was obstructed in the 1990s near Purfleet Station by a…
Read MoreWe fight development of Stockport’s green lung
We have objected to plans to develop part of the Reddish Vale Country Park, Stockport, for housing. Countryside Properties (UK) Ltd wants to build 99 houses there, on land north of Blackberry Lane. The society, in its objection letter to Stockport Council, has pointed out that the land is green belt and public open space…
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Local correspondents’ summit
Our local correspondents, our eyes and ears on the ground, are meeting this weekend at Hillscourt conference centre, Rednal, at the foot of the Lickey Hills in Worcestershire. There are a number of sessions on enforcement on public paths, protecting their full width and ensuring that all structures are friendly to users; saving greens and other…
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Wales apes England in changing law to destroy village greens
The society is dismayed that the Welsh Government proposes to copy England’s law and boost developers in destroying village greens. The Welsh Government in its Planning Bill, published today (6 October), copies England’s Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013. It prohibits the registration of land as a town or village green where it has been identified…
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Wales apes England and proposes law which will destroy village greens
We are dismayed that the Welsh Government proposes to copy England’s law and boost developers in destroying village greens. The Welsh Government in its Planning Bill, published today (6 October), copies England’s Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013. It prohibits the registration of land as a town or village green where it has been identified for…
Read MoreVictory against destructive Somerset solar farm
We are delighted that plans by INRG Solar Ltd, for 25,000 solar panels at Tynings Farm, Kilmersdon, Somerset, have been rejected by a planning inspector. We backed our member, the Jack and Jill Hill Preservation Society in fighting the scheme. The developers appealed against Mendip District Council’s refusal of planning permission and inspector John Wilde…
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Henley council rejects path discrimination
We have congratulated Henley Town Council on refusing to comply with Oxfordshire County Council’s plan to categorise local paths according to their use. Councillors, advised by the society, considered that this could lead to less-well-used paths being relegated so that they become obstructed and overgrown. The county council, the highway authority responsible for Oxfordshire’s public…
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Public hearing for Ealing’s Haven Green
The Friends of Haven Green and the Open Spaces Society are defending Haven Green (which is common land) at a hearing on Thursday 25 September. Ealing Council wants to widen a footway, erect temporary fencing, renew the footways and swap the land occupied by the old bus-layby, which will become common, for other land which…
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Saving our green spaces
If you want to save your open space you need to get involved. Our general secretary Kate Ashbrook tells you how. Communities need to be on their toes if they want to rescue their much-loved spaces from developers. The opportunity to register them as town or village greens has recently diminished in England, and…
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