Government should learn from Cumbrian green-space project
‘The government could learn a lot from the Our Green Space project in Cumbria.’ So declares our general secretary Kate Ashbrook, who spoke at the project’s celebratory event in Penrith on 11 November. ‘Here five communities*, with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Friends of the Lake District, have revitalised their local green…
Read MoreCelebrating success in saving and creating spaces for the public
We have launched our first Open Space Award. The society is inviting applicants who can demonstrate an activity that protects, increases, enhances and champions common land, town and village greens, open spaces and public paths in England and Wales, and the public’s right to enjoy them. Details are on our website here or phone 01491…
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Defra drives a bulldozer through village greens law
We have slated the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for driving a bulldozer through the laws for registering land as a new village green. The society has responded to Defra’s consultation on the registration of new town or village greens. At present land can be registered as a green if it has…
Read MoreNew green space – but keep off the grass!
The proposed new Local Green Space designation, in the government’s draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), is a muddle. It confers no right for the public to go there, so it may be that we can only look at it and not walk on it. The society has responded to the consultation on the draft…
Read MoreFight to save country park from devastation
We have joined local campaigners including the Friends of Ringwood Forest in their battle to stop precious recreation land on the Hampshire/Dorset border from being carved up for mineral extraction and then becoming a waste dump. The site, known as Purple Haze, is west of the B3081, in the Moors Valley Country Park between Verwood…
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The Open Spaces Society’s views on Defra’s consultation on the registration of new village greens, September 2011
We are deeply concerned about this consultation. We have asked our members for their views and are preparing a detailed response before the closing date of 17 October. In particular, our concerns are as follows. 1. A package The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) appears to be presenting a package of proposals,…
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Access bodies launch Lancashire project to rescue lost commons
The Open Spaces Society and the British Horse Society have launched a joint project to rescue thousands of acres of lost common land and record them for public use. We are funding Steve Byrne to research land in the Lancashire area that was omitted from the commons registers in the late 1960s and early 1970s…
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Trailblaze
We have recently been contacted by members of the Open Spaces Society who are unhappy about the Trailblaze project which is currently being trialled by Natural England on eight national trails. The society, while generally welcoming the wider use of paths, does have some concerns about this initiative which are broadly as follows: 1. the…
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Unlawful fence across Brecon Beacons commons must go
The Welsh Government has refused retrospective consent for a four-and-a-half-mile-long fence across common land in the Brecon Beacons National Park. The fence runs from near Pontsticill Reservoir in the south, crossing the hillside via Upper Neuadd Reservoir, passing just to the east of the famous summits of Pen y Fan and Cribyn and then cutting…
Read MorePlans withdrawn for 13 wind-turbines in tranquil Lune Valley
FELLS (Friends of Eden, Lakeland and Lunesdale Scenery), who have fought hard for over a decade to preserve the unspoiled tranquillity of the Lune Valley from its source in the Howgill Fells to the sea at Lancaster, are delighted that Community Windpower Ltd has withdrawn its appeal for the 13-turbine wind-farm development on Claughton and…
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