Latest News

Mass protest against missing Thames-side footbridge at Fawley

November 19, 2019

On Saturday 16 November more than 150 people, from Henley-on-Thames and beyond, joined a rally to protest at the year-long closure of Fawley footpath 12 due to a missing footbridge at Fawley Court in Buckinghamshire. The closure is forcing walkers onto the dangerous A4155 Henley-to-Marlow road. The protest was organised by the Ramblers Henley and…

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The Ethical Gift

November 10, 2019

Would you like to find a present for outdoorsy friends or family with a conscience? Ethical and environmentally friendly gifts are increasingly popular and rightly so. The Open Spaces Society is a small charity that fights to conserve and promote our environment by seeking protection for paths and open spaces, so that everyone can enjoy…

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We fight Henley Festival footpath closure

November 7, 2019

We have objected to plans by the Henley Festival for the temporary closure of the Thames Path National Trail in July 2020. Every year since 1998 the Festival has applied to Wokingham Borough Council, the highway authority, for the temporary closure of the path before, during and after the Festival—and the council has agreed. The…

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Welsh government must ensure new payments to farmers lead to better public access

November 7, 2019

We have called on the Welsh government to ensure that the payment of public money under the new Sustainable Land Management scheme will benefit the public who wish to gain access to Wales’s farmed land.  The society has responded to the Welsh government’s consultation paper Sustainable Farming and our Land. The society wishes to see…

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OSS Footpath to west of Hope-under-Dinmore footpath HD4

We save Herefordshire path from diversion

October 17, 2019

Our local correspondent Peter Newman has saved a path at Hope-under-Dinmore, four miles south of Leominster in Herefordshire.  Network Rail and Herefordshire Council wanted to replace a footpath, HD4, which crosses the Shrewsbury to Hereford railway line at grade, with a route to the north which passes under the railway and is used by vehicles.…

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We save path at Honing and East Ruston in Norfolk

September 30, 2019

A footpath in the parishes of Honing and East Ruston in north Norfolk has been reopened, thanks to the persistence of our local correspondent Ian Witham. In 2012 Ian reported to the highway authority, Norfolk County Council, that part of footpath 15 in Honing and 27 in East Ruston was under water from the construction…

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Dismay that Kirkby Moor wind turbines are to stay

July 30, 2019

A planning inspector has ruled that 12 wind turbines on common land at Kirkby Moor in Cumbria, close to the Lake District National Park, can remain until 2027. The applicant, Zephyr Investments Ltd (now Ventient Energy), appealed against South Lakeland District Council’s refusal to extend the life of the wind farm. The planning inspector, Mr…

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Hartfield footpath

We win greater width for Mayfield footpath

July 25, 2019

Brendan Clegg, our local correspondent for Wealden District in East Sussex, has won a five-metre width on a footpath at Mayfield. The county council promoted a plan to move the path, but proposed that the new route had a width of only two and a half metres. Brendan argued that this was insufficient, particularly if…

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York Council agrees to step up its work on public paths

July 25, 2019

York City Council has agreed to step up its work on public paths. The decision was made by the council’s executive on 18 July, in response to a complaint by our member, Mr Graham Cheyne, to the local government ombudsman (LGO). On 9 May the LGO told the City of York Council that it must…

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Seven Sisters secured

June 8, 2019

We have welcomed East Sussex County Council’s proposal to transfer ownership of Seven Sisters Country Park to the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA). This follows nearly five years of uncertainty. Said our local representative, Brendan Clegg: ‘This is excellent news and a huge relief to all those who cherish this wonderful place. We are…

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