A big welcome to West Yorkshire
On Saturday 25 June a new long-distance path, the Welcome Way, will be opened in Otley, West Yorkshire. The 28-mile circular walk is unique because it was created through the collaborative effort of three West Yorkshire Walkers Are Welcome towns: Otley, Burley-in-Wharfedale and Baildon, linking all three. There is an additional nine-mile loop taking in…
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Space invaders
Public funding is being cut and our green spaces exploited to fill the gap. Our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, considers the threat to our open spaces and national parks. In London, communities fight motor racing in Battersea Park, and festivals on Acton Green, Clapham Common and Finsbury Park—among countless battles. But we have a new…
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Battersea Park rescued from permanent motor-race circuit
We are delighted that the Formula E motor-race championship, which was approved by Wandsworth Council and set to continue every year in Battersea Park, will now only take place in 2016 with full reinstatement afterwards. James Jackson, whose judicial review of Wandsworth’s decision was due to be heard in court this week, has reached an…
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Commons in a ‘glocal’ world
This was the title of the conference which our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, attended in Bern, Switzerland, in May. It was organised by the International Association for the Study of the Commons (IASC) and Bern University, to discuss commons at a European level. Kate tells the story. We should start with some definitions. ‘Glocal’ means…
Read MoreOur new Case Officer
We are delighted to welcome Hugh Craddock as our new Case Officer. Hugh will work alongside our present Case Officer, Nicola Hodgson, assisting members of the society on technical, legal and practical issues regarding commons, greens, open spaces and public paths. Hugh formerly worked for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and…
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Damaging New Forest development is rejected
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has said no to an ugly solar ‘farm’ in the New Forest National Park. Greg Clark has dismissed an appeal from MTS Exbury Solar Ltd against refusal of planning permission by the New Forest National Park Authority. The application was for a solar farm on nine…
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We launch our 12-point action plan for the new National Assembly for Wales
We have unveiled our 12-point action plan for the new National Assembly for Wales. We call on election candidates to lobby for a better deal for green spaces and public paths. Our Action Plan for Wales chimes with the seven principles in the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. Open spaces and paths are…
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Stepping stones across the River Thame
Our local correspondent Chris Hall writes of the society’s efforts to record a route across the River Thame in Oxfordshire as a public footpath. Three miles east of industrial Cowley, deep and peacefully remote in the meadows of the Oxford green belt, is a legal battleground at grid reference SP 601 005. As recently as…
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Multi-million pound Firle Footpath ploughed up for the third time
For the third time, the Firle Estate has ploughed up a path that it gets a huge subsidy to keep open, despite promises to the Open Spaces Society given three months ago that it would be opened. The path, which runs south from the Barley Mow Pub at Selmeston, is one of the reasons that…
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Kington’s pioneer path-scheme comes to an end
After 25 years the pioneering Kington Footpath Scheme in Herefordshire has come to an end. The scheme was invented and run by Peter Newman, our trustee and north-west Herefordshire local correspondent, with Herefordshire Council and the Hereford Probation Service. Offenders on Community Payback worked with Peter and the council to install about 800 stiles and…
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