Blackburn group win support of borough council for new Asset of Community Value
A much loved open space at Whitehall Road in Blackburn, has been awarded Asset of Community Value (ACV) status by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council following a campaign by the Whitehall Road Neighbourhood Group. The benefit of achieving ACV listing is that this becomes a material planning consideration, a matter that should be taken into…
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The rise and fall of village greens
The Supreme Court has dealt a bitter blow to communities wanting to protect their open spaces. As a result of a judgment last December concerning two green spaces, in Lancashire and Surrey, it has become much more difficult to protect land and assert rights of recreation on it. Our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, follows the…
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Lancaster green space saved for the community
We are delighted that Lancashire County Council has agreed to register Freeman’s Wood as a town green, thus saving it from development. The nine-hectare site is an open field surrounded by woodland next to the Lune industrial estate on the west side of Lancaster. Originally a waste tip for the former linoleum factory, it has…
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Kingsmead Field, Canterbury, is made a village green
Canterbury City Council has dedicated three acres of Kingsmead Field in Kent as a village green. Kent County Council approved the registration last month. Now that the land is registered it is protected from development and local people have rights of recreation here. Canterbury City Council agreed to dedicate the land in return for a…
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Our general secretary wins bronze award
Our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, has won bronze in The Great Outdoors magazine’s Campaigner of the Year Award, following a vote from members of the public. Described by one voter as ‘inspirational in her constant drive to keep footpaths open’, Kate came third to environmental campaigners Greta Thunberg and Chris Packham. Says Kate: ‘I am…
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We deplore Leicestershire County Council’s failure to protect public bridleway near Market Harborough
We are deeply concerned about the failure of Leicestershire County Council to protect public bridleway A105, at Farndon Fields to the west of Market Harborough, from development. The society has been supporting its local member Peter Pollak in his effort to get the route reopened. Harborough District Council, gave planning consent to Avant Homes to…
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Supreme Court overrides rights of local communities on village greens
We have expressed deep sympathy for our members, Janine Bebbington and the Moorside Fields Community Group in Lancaster, following the Supreme Court judgment(1) on 11 December rejecting the registration of the fields as a village green. See our summary of the judgment here. This will have a huge impact on the ability of local communities…
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Missed opportunity to protect open spaces in Wales
We have responded to the Welsh government’s consultation on its National Development Framework (NDF) and raised concerns about the impact on the landscape and tourism, and the missed opportunities for protecting open space. The NDF is a new development plan which will set the direction for development in Wales from 2020 to 2040. It contains…
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Our case officer Nicola Hodgson celebrates 20 years with Open Spaces Society
In 1999, solicitor Nicola Hodgson was instructed by Sunningwell Parish Council, in Oxfordshire, to register a piece of land as a village green – thereby preventing two new houses being built on the site which had, for decades, been popular with families and dog walkers. The case went to the House of Lords, resulting in…
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Bullies beware!
Through our 154-year history, the Open Spaces Society has developed a proud record of legal action. We fought the enclosures, and defended commoners’ rights; we have tested the law in the courts many times. We have suffered losses, but we also have landmark victories to our name. One such victory was our challenge to Dorset…
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