BBC Radio Oxford interview
On Sunday 6 February our general secretary had an hour-long interview with Bill Heine on BBC Radio Oxford. She chatted about public paths, forestry privatisation, village greens, common land and campaigning. You can listen to it here: BBC Radio Oxford interview.
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Honiton green space saved for the community
Campaigners from Honiton in East Devon are delighted that Littletown Green has been registered as a village green. The four-acre field has been enjoyed by local people for informal recreation for decades. With support from us, Rosemary Kimbell (a member of the society), her husband Alan and neighbours Mike Allen and Andy Cox gathered evidence…
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Victory for Kent coastland
Kent County Council has resolved to register land adjacent to Barnes car-park on Westbrook Promenade, near Margate in Kent, as a village green. We backed our member WASPS (Westbrook Against Selling Promenade Site) led by Tony Sykes, in its bid to secure rights for local people to enjoy this land for recreation, as well as…
Read MoreChadderton Field, Newcastle, wins village green protection
We have congratulated the Friends of Chadderton Field on the successful registration of a new village green. The green is in the Chapel House area in the City of Newcastle. Newcastle City Council, the registration authority, agreed on 1 February to register the land, which consists of a grassed area. The application was made on…
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Yeadon Banks Green still undecided following appeal court ruling
The application to register five acres of treasured open space known as Yeadon Banks, on the outskirts of Leeds, as a town green is still not decided following a Court of Appeal judgment on Monday (20 December). Read the judgment here Mr Doug Jones, of Keep Yeadon Banks Green (KEYBAG) applied in 2004 to register…
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We warn parish council against skate bowl on green
We have warned Liss Parish Council that it is unlawful to construct a skate bowl on the registered village green at West Liss in east Hampshire. The green is within the boundary of the South Downs National Park. The society has written to the chairman of the parish council to explain that such a development…
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High Court judgment puts many greens at risk
Today Mr Justice Morgan delivered judgment in the High Court on the case of Markham and Little Francis village green at Weymouth in Dorset.(1) Read it here The judge has determined that the land should not have been registered as a green, and has directed that it be removed from the register, thus laying it…
Read MoreOpen Spaces Society fights gating order for Hove path
The Open Spaces Society,(1) Britain’s oldest national conservation body, has opposed Brighton and Hove Council’s plan to make a gating order for Farman Street, Hove. (2) The council wants to lock people out of the street between 9pm and 8am, claiming that the route is associated with crime and anti-social behaviour. Says Kate Ashbrook, the…
Read MoreThanet open spaces win reprieve from sale
Thanet District Council in Kent has resolved not to sell off the Chine at the Western Undercliff in Ramsgate, and to reconsider the other proposed asset disposals. The Chine is an immensely important site, for public enjoyment and for wildlife. We are thrilled that Thanet District Council has recognised its public value and resolved to…
Read MoreGreens review rejected by experts’ gathering
The national seminar on common land and town and village greens on 1 July, at the University of Gloucester, rejected the notion of a wholesale review of the laws for the registration of new greens. Kate Ashbrook, general secretary of the Open Spaces Society, proposed the motion This seminar believes that little change is needed…
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