We slate revived plans for wind turbine in secret Suffolk countryside
We have objected strongly to revived plans from Stamford Renewables Ltd for a wind turbine with access roads and associated works in Suffolk’s beautiful Waveney valley. The society has written to Waveney District Council urging it to refuse the application. The development, at Laurels Farm, Barsham, near Beccles, will destroy part of High Common on…
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Public rights to Henley greenspace are saved
The Secretary of State for Transport has rejected a proposal to stop up part of Bell Street, Henley-on-Thames for private parking spaces. The plan would have had an impact on the green space at the end of Bell Street. The application for closure was made by international land-agents Chesterton Commercial (Oxon) Ltd. The proposal was…
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Mendip Council rejects ‘sun farm’ in rural Somerset
Mendip District Council’s planning board yesterday roundly rejected a planning application from AEE Renewables for a solar farm close to public footpaths at Doulting, east of Shepton Mallet, in the heart of rural Somerset. The application was for 22,000 solar panels, security fencing and associated equipment on the slopes of Ingsdons Hill about a mile…
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Polo plans at Marlow put users of popular path at risk
We have objected to a planning application for polo practise at Marlow, Bucks, because it will put the users of the popular Harleyford Lane at risk. The development will require large horseboxes to travel along the lane, which is also a public byway enjoyed by a wide range of users by right. Harleyford Lane runs…
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Last chance to grab your greens – do it now!
Our new-year message. We have made a last-minute call to communities to apply to register land as town or village greens. The government’s Growth and Infrastructure Bill, currently in the House of Lords, emasculates the process. The government falsely claims that greens registration is a barrier to development and wants to stop this. Clause 14…
Read MoreOur dismay at approval of cycleway on Cumbrian coastal common
We are dismayed that the Planning Inspectorate has approved a plan by Cumbria County Council to construct a cycleway on registered common land at Scadbeck and Crosscanonby foreshore on the Cumbrian Coast. Although the council had planning permission it was required in addition to obtain consent for works on common land, under section 38 of…
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Two new volunteers for the society
We have appointed two new local correspondents: Brian Cowling for Bedford Borough, and Chris Smith for Lewes District in East Sussex and Brighton & Hove City. Brian worked as a rights-of-way officer for Bedfordshire County Council and then Bedford Borough Council when it became a unitary authority. He enjoys walking, backpacking in the UK, reading,…
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Delight at rejection of horse complex in Chiltern valley
We are delighted that Wycombe District Council has refused an application for a private equestrian-development in the lovely Skirmett valley, in the heart of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Buckinghamshire. The plan was to demolish the buildings at Stud Farm (now pointlessly renamed Valentine Farm) and replace them with an equestrian complex…
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New ammunition for fighting landowners’ path-diversions
Ever since we received a favourable opinion from George Laurence QC on the interpretation of ‘expedient’ in section 119 of the Highways Act 1980 (the section which deals with the diversion of public paths), the Ramblers and ourselves have been looking for a suitable case on which to test this. The case emerged when the…
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Dismay at refusal of village-green status for Cranbrook’s historic meadow
We are sorry to learn that the application to register the Long Field, Cranbrook, Kent, as a village green has been rejected following a public inquiry last September. The 5.2-acre Long Field is at the junction of Angley Road (A229) and Quaker Lane on the north-east side of Cranbrook. It is crossed by two public…
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