Welsh Government wants to pave the way for development of green spaces
We have condemned the Welsh Government’s draft Planning Bill in which it proposes to pave the way for development of open spaces by changing the law for registering land as a town or village green. The Welsh Government wants to make it impossible to apply to register land as a green where that land is…
Read MorePlan to desecrate Hammersmith Park
We have objected to plans by Playfootball Ltd to build football pitches with a pavilion and car park on Hammersmith Park in west London. Playfootball has submitted a planning application to the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Council. We are concerned that the development will take more than one-third of the public park which…
Read MoreWe fight devastation of Swansea commons
We have sent a strong objection to plans to build 16 wind turbines with associated infrastructure on Mynydd y Gwair and adjoining commons, eight miles north of Swansea. RWE npower renewables has planning permission for the development but, because it is to be sited on registered common land, the developer needs the additional consent of…
Read MoreCharlton Common saved: developers withdraw road-proposal
Redrow Homes has withdrawn its proposal to build a 6.4-metre-wide road with a three-metre-wide pedestrian and cycle lane across Charlton Common in South Gloucestershire. The application was in connection with adjoining development. The public inquiry, due to start on 26 November, has been cancelled. The inquiry opened in April and was immediately adjourned. The room…
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Inclosure revived
Our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, writes about the revival of the inclosure movement. A century and a half ago we thought the inclosures were coming to an end—about the time that the Open Spaces Society was formed. Indeed, I said as much in Japan recently to an international audience on commons, and commiserated with those…
Read MorePorthcawl’s quiet lane saved from development
We have welcomed Bridgend County Borough Council’s decision to refuse planning permission on land at Moor Lane, Porthcawl, south Wales. The society objected because Moor Lane is popular with walkers, runners, horse riders and cyclists, and these vulnerable road-users could not have continued to enjoy this narrow country lane. Porthcawl Riders and local residents from…
Read MoreDevelopment approved on Llanberis common
We are dismayed that Gwynedd Council’s planning committee has yesterday (2 September) approved a pump-storage power-station on common land at Glyn Rhonwy quarry above Llanberis, on the edge of the Snowdonia National Park. In objecting, we called on Gwynedd Council to ensure the developer, The Quarry Battery Co Ltd from London, was aware that works…
Read MoreMinister rules that ‘Circuit of Wales’ development will not be called in
We are distressed that Carl Sargeant, the Minister for Housing and Regeneration in the Welsh Government, has ruled that the application for the ‘Circuit of Wales’ motor-racing centre will not be called in, but left for Blaenau Gwent Council to determine as it sees fit. The council has already granted outline consent to the Heads…
Read MoreLondoners asked for their views on green spaces
Londoners are being asked for their views on how green spaces in the capital are managed in the light of increasing concerns that budget cuts and building developments will put them at risk. The London Assembly environment committee has undertaken a survey which will allow participants to give their priorities for green spaces and to…
Read MoreCommon-land issues make future of ‘Circuit of Wales’ uncertain
The Circuit of Wales plan still has a long way to go before it can proceed, because of the need to sort out common-land issues. The application, from the Heads of the Valleys Development Company, for a motor-racing centre was approved by Blaenau Gwent council yesterday (10 July). As a number of objectors pointed out,…
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