What future for Helredale’s open space?
The future of the playing field at Helredale, Whitby, North Yorkshire, is in the balance. Following a disappointing ruling in the court of appeal in October, Helredale Neighbourhood Council (HNC) is hoping to obtain permission to appeal to the supreme court. Read more about it here.
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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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People vote for village greens with their feet
We have countered the government’s claim that applications to register land as a town or village green can undermine the democratically-accountable planning process, by pointing out that people vote for greens with their feet. We have sent a briefing to MPs before the report-stage debate on the government’s Growth and Infrastructure Bill on Monday (17…
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Call for open space champions
We have launched our 2013 Open Space Award and are calling for nominations for open space champions. We want to encourage nominations for projects which support our aims to protect, increase, enhance and champion common land, town and village greens, open spaces and public rights of way in England and Wales, and the public’s right…
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Government failing in ambition to be ‘greenest ever’
The Coalition Government is failing on its own commitments to Britain’s natural environment: that’s the public’s view from a survey organised by Wildlife and Countryside Link (Link), a coalition of 39 leading environmental charities. Of those surveyed, less than a quarter (23%) think the Government is doing enough to protect our landscapes and wildlife—on land…
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Herne Bay Downs set to become a village green
The Downs at Herne Bay in Kent are set to be registered as a village green. An inspector, appointed by Kent County Council, has recommended to the council that the land be registered. The application was made by Phil Rose of the Friends of the Downs in September 2009. Because the landowner, Canterbury City Council,…
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Government’s plans for village greens a kick in the teeth for localism
We have slated the government’s plans for town and village greens in the Growth and Infrastructure Bill as ‘a kick in the teeth for localism’. We are calling on Members of Parliament to speak against clause 13 of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill which is due for second reading in the House of Commons soon.…
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OSS on BBC Countryfile
The society was featured on BBC One Countryfile on 11 November, arguing that the government’s proposed changes to village-greens law in the Growth and Infrastructure Bill are over the top, and will kill off genuine applications as well as dealing with vexatious ones. You can watch the programme here.
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Changes to village green law will not fit the bill
The excessive measures in the Growth and Infrastructure Bill to change the law on registering land as a town or village green should be reconsidered. So say the Open Spaces Society and the Campaign to Protect Rural England who, among others, are campaigning to amend clause 13 of the Bill. Without changes, the Bill would…
Read MoreGrowth and Infrastructure Bill: threat to greens
The Growth and Infrastructure Bill clause 13 will make it more difficult, if not downright impossible, to register land as a town or village green once it has been identified for development. The Bill says that a ‘trigger event’—which includes first publication of a planning application or identification of the land for potential development in…
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