Prison-like fence must go
The society has objected to a retrospective planning application for a close-boarded fence, nearly two metres high, alongside the public footpath at Deanacre, off Deanfield Road in Henley-on-Thames. Mr Philip Turner, of 2 Deanacre, has applied to South Oxfordshire District Council for consent for the fence which was erected without planning permission last year, replacing…
Read MoreBeauty-spot path on Cornish coast to be reopened at last
The claimed footpath at Carlyon Bay, St Austell in Cornwall is at last being reopened, after being submerged by development. The society’s members Gloria and Peter Price have led the campaign to win back the path. The Prices claimed the route, from Beach Road to the former Coliseum Building, for the official map of public…
Read MoreDevelopers must heed common land and public paths
‘Developers must be aware of registered common land and public paths on their land before they finalise their plans—or they will have to face big hold-ups.’ This is our response to the Penfold Review of Non-Planning Consents (Department of Business, Innovation and Skills). The aim of the review is ‘to explore whether the process for…
Read MoreAnger at West Sussex County Council’s decision on National Park
Countryside organizations have today reacted angrily to the news that West Sussex County Council has ignored pleas from the public, environmental organizations and even its own Environment Committee about public paths in the South Downs National Park. The County Council has announced it will definitely take back the maintenance of rights of way and countryside…
Read MoreMountain-top wind factory
We have welcomed the recommendation from Swansea’s planning officers to reject the application from N Power Renewables Ltd to erect 19 wind turbines on Mynydd y Gwair Common, a beauty-spot eight miles north of Swansea.. Swansea’s planning committee meets on Thursday (21 January) to determine the controversial application. We are delighted that the officers are…
Read MoreThink again West Sussex!
Countryside organizations have today welcomed the recommendation that West Sussex County Council should reconsider its position on rights of way in the South Downs National Park. The recommendation was made by the County Council’s environment committee which said they felt the South Downs Society, the Access Forum, parish councils and other county councils should be…
Read MoreCentenary of ‘landmark law’
This year marks the centenary of the Finance Act 1910, a landmark law which has proved valuable in claiming routes as public paths for the definitive (official) map of rights of way in England and Wales. David Lloyd George’s Finance Act 1910 introduced a tax on land, but landowners could apply for a reduction in…
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Beauty-spot blot
We have objected to a retrospective planning application for a high, galvanised-steel ‘gate’ at Turville, Bucks, on a hilltop in the heart of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Michael and Carol Clare of Turville Court, part of a 22 million-pound estate, erected a green metal structure, nearly three metres high and five metres…
Read MoreSixty years on, path protectors challenge councils to ‘put themselves on the map’
Councils across England and Wales are today challenged to ‘put themselves on the map’, by the Ramblers and Open Spaces Society, on the 60th Anniversary of royal assent of the Act which the created official maps of public paths (the definitive map). The visionary 1949 National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act, passed 60…
Read MoreGreen ruling for Burton’s Wood
A hectare of land known as Burton’s Wood, at Burton’s Lane, Little Chalfont in Buckinghamshire, has been registered as a village green. Says our case officer Nicola Hodgson: ‘This is a wonderful outcome. Buckinghamshire County Council’s Rights of Way Committee followed the recommendations of the Head of Planning, Environment and Development, and Head of Legal…
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