Brick pillars on Chailey Common must go
Lewes District Council’s planning applications committee has rejected a retrospective application for brick pillars on Chailey Common, East Sussex, at its meeting on 13 October. The councillors threw out the application from the owners of White Cottage, Haywards Heath Road, North Chailey, because they considered the brick piers bearing the house name were incongruous in…
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Wormley nature reserve saved
The nature reserve in Wormley, south of Broxbourne in Hertfordshire, has been saved from demotion. Broxbourne Borough Council, in its draft Local Development Framework 2011-2021, threatened to remove the Top Field and Cozens Grove local nature reserve from the green belt, which would have laid it open to development. After lobbying by local people, the…
Read MoreNew representative for Stratford District
We have appointed Peter Bolton of Wellesbourne as our local correspondent for Stratford District. Peter, a retired history teacher and architectural historian, has lived in Warwickshire for nearly 40 years and has walked some 4,000 miles of local paths in every district of the county and every parish of the Stratford-on-Avon District. Peter will be…
Read MoreCommon land provides massive common good
‘In these austere times, we should invest in our unique resource of common land.’ So said our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, at an international symposium on the role of commons at Sheffield Hallam University on 16 September. ‘Commons are a remarkable survival from pre-medieval times, unenclosed and undisturbed through history. They also have immense public…
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Finding Common Ground
We have published Finding Common Ground, the first-ever guide to how to recognise and take account of local-community interests in common land. The work was commissioned by Natural England, the government’s adviser on the natural environment. Read it here. Says Kate Ashbrook, our general secretary (who wrote the report with Nicola Hodgson, its case officer):…
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New activist for South Derbyshire
We have appointed Barry Thomas, of Melbourne, south of Derby, as our local correspondent for South Derbyshire. Barry will be our eyes and ears in this area, keeping a close watch on the state of the paths and reporting any problems to Derbyshire County Council, the highway authority. Barry is a retired Derby teacher, where…
Read MoreAdd your campaign for open spaces and paths to the Piece-by-piece website
The Guardian has launched its Piece-by-piece campaign. The aim is to publicise threatened places and spaces and to enable local activists to exchange information and advice, and to build a powerful alliance against developments which threaten our natural environment and people’s enjoyment of it. Click to add your campaign to Piece-by-piece.
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We condemn plan to flog off part of unique Crystal Palace Park
The London Development Agency’s plan to flog off part of Crystal Palace Park, in the London Borough of Bromley, has been approved, following a public inquiry last summer. The plans from the LDA form part of an ambitious regeneration scheme for the park, with disposal of parts of the park for private housing helping to…
Read MoreThanet open spaces win reprieve from sale
Thanet District Council in Kent has resolved not to sell off the Chine at the Western Undercliff in Ramsgate, and to reconsider the other proposed asset disposals. The Chine is an immensely important site, for public enjoyment and for wildlife. We are thrilled that Thanet District Council has recognised its public value and resolved to…
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Closure of Waterfoot path
An inspector acting for the environment secretary has ruled that Rawtenstall public footpath number 237 should be closed, to enable Lancashire County Council to build a new Waterfoot Primary School. There were nine objections, from the Open Spaces Society, Rossendale Ramblers and others, to Lancashire County Council’s plan to stop up the path, and a…
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