Our pledge to fight sale of Nottinghamshire’s forests
Speaking to local historians in Nottinghamshire, our trustee, Jean Macdonald, pledged to help fight the sale of publicly-owned woods and forests in Nottinghamshire. Jean was addressing the first Angel Row Local History Forum on Tuesday evening [15 February] in Nottingham Central Library. The forum is organised by the Nottinghamshire Local History Association and supported by…
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The fight for West Beach, Whitstable
We have joined the campaign to stop the Whitstable Oyster Fishery Company from building a café on the unspoilt West Beach at Whitstable in Kent. The society has sent an objection to Canterbury City Council. This is a lovely, unspoilt beach. The café will be an eyesore and will suburbanise it. It will interfere with…
Read MorePublic school privatisation plan bites the dust
Local Ramblers and the Open Spaces Society have led a successful bid to prevent the closure of a public footpath across the grounds of Pipers Corner, the posh public school at Great Kingshill, near High Wycombe in Bucks. A public inquiry was held last December and the Planning Inspectorate has now published its decision. The…
Read MoreOutdoor enthusiasts speak out over Public Bodies Bill
Twelve organisations, representing a broad range of people who care about and enjoy the great outdoors, have today (4 February) issued a statement expressing their concerns about the Public Bodies Bill, currently in the House of Lords. The statement draws attention to changes proposed to the Forestry Commission and the National Park Authorities which own…
Read MoreChadderton Field, Newcastle, wins village green protection
We have congratulated the Friends of Chadderton Field on the successful registration of a new village green. The green is in the Chapel House area in the City of Newcastle. Newcastle City Council, the registration authority, agreed on 1 February to register the land, which consists of a grassed area. The application was made on…
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Losehill Hall sold off: we have reservations
We have mixed feelings about the announcement from the Peak District National Park Authority that Losehill Hall, the world-famous national park learning centre, is to be sold to the Youth Hostels Association (YHA). The society favoured the bid from the Field Studies Council, and when the park opted for the YHA’s tender, had hoped that…
Read MoreWestfield Common, Woking, threatened again
Woking Borough Council is consulting interest groups and local people on plans to swap part of Westfield Common. The intention is to provide an access road to a potential new housing development north of Moor Lane. Woking Council wanted to deregister 387 square metres of the common. It is wet woodland and a Site of…
Read MoreLocalism Bill is a muddle for open spaces
We today roundly condemn the Localism Bill, the government’s flagship measure for giving people power to run their own lives and neighbourhoods. The bill is due for second reading in the House of Commons on Monday 17 January. Our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, says: ‘One of the bill’s most important aspects-the care and future of…
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Yeadon Banks Green still undecided following appeal court ruling
The application to register five acres of treasured open space known as Yeadon Banks, on the outskirts of Leeds, as a town green is still not decided following a Court of Appeal judgment on Monday (20 December). Read the judgment here Mr Doug Jones, of Keep Yeadon Banks Green (KEYBAG) applied in 2004 to register…
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Final countdown to decision on top national-park learning centre
We plan to speak at the Peak District National Park Authority’s meeting on Friday 17 December, where members will make a decision on the future of the highly-admired Losehill Hall in the Hope Valley, Derbyshire. Losehill Hall has belonged to the Peak Park for 40 years. Now, officers propose to sell or lease it, to…
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