Saving Welsh village greens from changes in planning law
The Open Spaces Society opposes the Welsh Government’s draconian proposals in its draft Planning Bill to make it more difficult for people to register land as a town or village green. The government wants to prohibit applications where land has been identified for planning, and to enable landowners to submit declarations to the common registration…
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Government’s new attack on beleaguered green spaces
Update: On 28 January, the order was confirmed by both Houses, see below: House of Commons debate House of Lords debate Read the confirmed order here. The government has struck yet another blow at open spaces. On Tuesday 28 January parliamentary committees will be asked to rubber-stamp a set of measures which make it even…
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Court ruling gives green light to developers on open spaces
‘A black ruling for greens’, is how we responded to the judgment* in the Supreme Court yesterday (5 February) which gives a green light to developers who want to build on open spaces. The court ruled that village greens at Curtis Fields at Weymouth in Dorset and Clayton Fields at Kirklees, West Yorkshire, must be…
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We oppose fencing on Bowland common
We have objected to an application from the Yorkshire Burnmoor Graziers to erect fencing on common land, alongside Mewith Lane near Bentham in North Yorkshire. The common is within the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The society objects because the fence will enclose the lane which currently crosses open country. The fence…
Read MoreDisused railway should be village green for Llanmorlais
The community of Llanmorlais, a small village seven miles west of Swansea, could see a strip of disused railway confirmed as their village green after a public inquiry in March. James Matthews, an Open Spaces Society member, has made the application after villagers completed evidence of their uninterrupted use of the land for 20 years.…
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Horsted Keynes footpath is saved
A popular footpath at Horsted Keynes, four miles north-east of Haywards Heath in West Sussex, has been saved on its existing route. West Sussex County Council backed the landowner, Miss Wykeham-Martin, in her application to move the footpath, number 8/1, which runs across three fields at Lucas Farm to the edge of two of them.…
Read MoreMendip Council rejects solar farm in Somerset beauty-spot
Mendip Council has refused permission for a solar farm at Kilmersdon, near Radstock in Somerset. The Pegasus Group wanted to erect about 25,000 solar panels on 35 acres of fields at New Tyning Farm, for 25 years. We backed our member the Jack and Jill Hill Preservation Society in opposing the scheme. The society was…
Read MoreWe urge Welsh environmental body to champion common land
We have urged Natural Resources Wales (NRW) to champion common land and to oppose government plans to weaken the law protecting village greens. The society has responded to NRW’s consultation, Planning our Future. We are concerned that nowhere in the document is there a mention of common land and its crucial role in securing a…
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Last chance to save Dorset village green
We are supporting our member the Society for the Protection of Markham and Little Francis at a hearing in the Supreme Court on Wednesday (15 January 2014). The local society will seek to persuade the court to uphold the registration of the village green on the outskirts of Weymouth, Dorset. This is the last chance…
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We fight commercial use of public open space in Dulwich
We have opposed a planning application for a commercial children’s day-nursery on Dulwich sports ground at Turney Road in Southwark. The application has been made by Southwark Community Sports Trust to provide revenue for the trust to maintain the sports ground. There are many local objectors including the Friends of Belair Park. We consider that…
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