Development on West Sussex Common
We have objected to a planning application on Horsebridge Common, Ashurst, near Steyning in West Sussex. The application is to convert garages into a cookery-school and tea-room, but the building is on registered common land, which means it is unlawful. Works on common land need the consent of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food…
Read MoreLandowners plan public-path grab
We have condemned the Country Land and Business Association’s (CLA) plans for public paths as ‘an attack on our historic path heritage’. We were responding to the CLA’s report The Right Way Forward published today. Says Kate Ashbrook, our general secretary: ‘The CLA’s talk about “modernising” the access system is a lightly-veiled promotion of their…
Read MoreFighting a path move on Northumberland coast
We have objected to the proposed diversion of Beadnell footpath 31, which leads from Harbour Road, Beadnell, on the Northumberland coast, to Haven Beach. The plan has been published by Northumberland County Council, the highway authority, and objections must be made by 15 March. The proposal is to move the path onto a route to…
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Southborough Common is a jewel
‘Southborough Common is a jewel’, says Kate Ashbrook, our general secretary. Kate visited the Kent common on 8 February and then spoke at a public meeting organised by Kent High Weald Partnership which is consulting local interests on the future of the common. ‘Common land is immensely special,’ says Kate. No other land type has…
Read MoreKent County Council restores public access to ancient site
Congratulations to Kent County Council, the access authority, for going to court to restore forbidden land to the public. The council took Mr John Button, owner of the historic Capel Battery on the clifftop at Capel-le-Ferne, near Folkestone, to the magistrates’ court, after he blocked off public access to the site. The land had been…
Read MoreNew coastal access starts this summer
We are delighted that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced that the first stretch of the England Coastal Path will be open this summer. The first section of route starts at Rufus Castle in Portland and will end at Lulworth Cove, both in Dorset, and covers 32km of coastline along…
Read MorePath campaigners relieved at new deal for ‘Poohsticks Path’
We are relieved that a development which threatened the footpath leading to the famous Poohsticks Bridge in Ashdown Forest is to be removed. Mr and Mrs Ben Van Praagh of Faircote Hall and stud, at Hartfield in East Sussex, had been given retrospective planning permission for a new riding arena which crossed the public footpath…
Read MoreAshton Vale green goes to High Court
We welcome the news that the High Court will review Bristol City Council’s decision to register only part of the 42-acre site at Ashton Vale, Bedminster, as a town or village green. The application for judicial review was made by the Save Ashton Vale Environment (SAVE) group. Bristol City Football Club wants to build a…
Read MoreOutdoor groups blast Stowe School’s golf course plans
We are challenging Stowe School’s golf course plan. With the Bucks, Milton Keynes and West Middlesex Ramblers, we have objected to the posh public school’s scheme to move its existing north Bucks golf course onto land crossed by public paths, and have submitted our objections to Aylesbury Vale District Council, the planning authority. The proposed…
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Crucial Henley greenspace
We have opposed plans by the Secretary of State for Transport to stop up a 26-metre width of public highway adjacent to 94-102 Bell Street in Henley-on-Thames. The proposed highway-closure is to enable Chesterton Commercial to construct parking spaces here. We were among the objectors to the plans for car parking on the green space,…
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