Help to secure a new national park in Wales
The plan for a national park in north-east Wales, provisionally called the Glyndŵr National Park, is reaching its culmination, and it needs your help—whether you live in Wales, you visit there, or you believe in national parks. This will be the first new national park in Wales since 1957, and is a truly exciting prospect. …
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New village green at Maes Glasfryn, St Davids, Pembrokeshire
We are celebrating the generosity of brothers Malcolm, Andrew and Stuart Gray, who voluntarily registered some of their land as a village green. This is at Ty Glasfryn (known locally as Maes Glasfryn) in the heart of the city of St Davids, Pembrokeshire, and it is thereby protected for ever for local people to enjoy.…
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Senedd saves unrecorded public paths
We are delighted that the Senedd has repealed the 2026 cut-off date for public rights of way in Wales[1]. The Legislation (Procedure, Publication and Repeals) (Wales) Act 2025, which contains this provision[2], won royal assent on 10 July. The Welsh Government had included these repeal provisions in a consultation draft of the Bill in 2022,…
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Public-path guillotine set for repeal in Wales
We are delighted that the Welsh Government will introduce provisions before the Senedd to repeal the 2026 cut-off date for public rights of way. Speaking in the Senedd on 3 March [1], Julie James, Counsel General and Minister for Delivery, said that the Government would bring forward amendments to the Legislation (Procedure, Publication and Repeals) (Wales)…
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Don’t trash Swansea’s Kilvey Hill
We have condemned Swansea planners’ recommendation to approve the Skyline’s development on Kilvey Hill. On Tuesday (4 March) the planning committee will decide the fate of this unique area. The development would comprise, among other structures, gondola stations and chairlift infrastructure for 22 cable cars, a restaurant and bar, a vast area of high-speed luge…
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Mega-development on Kilvey Hill, Swansea, would cut a hole in a Persian carpet
We have objected strongly to the amended planning application from Swansea Skyline to convert Kilvey Hill, east of Swansea, into a commercial tourist-site. The society considers the hill to be a much-loved local gem, which should not be sacrificed for mega-tourism. The proposed development would comprise, among other structures, gondola stations and chairlift infrastructure for…
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Guts—not cuts
In the latest edition of Open Space magazine, our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, urges the new government to be bold in securing new and better access. She writes: The new Westminster government arrived sooner than expected. Does this mean new access sooner than expected? The government has so far been silent on this subject as…
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Access is a vital element of the Sustainable Farming Scheme in Wales
We have responded to the Welsh government’s consultation on the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS), whereby money is given to landowners and farmers to deliver public goods. We warmly welcome the SFS and are pleased that it offers landowners and farmers the opportunity to provide improved public access. We believe this public good to be of…
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The disposal of open space on Swansea’s Kilvey Hill
Swansea Council advertised notice of disposal of open space on Kilvey Hill, under section 123(2A) of the Local Government Act 1972, in anticipation of the council granting planning permission for the massive Skyline leisure development on the hill. The Open Spaces Society was among many objectors, arguing that the disposal was contrary to the council’s…
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Celebrating the Gower Society’s 75th anniversary
‘The Gower Society is a model for local campaigning.’ So said our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, in a talk to celebrate the Gower Society’s 75th anniversary this year. On its inception in 1948 the Gower Society joined the Open Spaces and they have shared similar aims of protecting common land, open spaces, and paths ever…
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