We exhort councillors to back riverside route for missing link in Thames Path
Stop press: Unfortunately, at its meeting on 5 June, the council agreed to pursue the roadside route and the car park on Bridge Gardens. We shall fight this. We have called on Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Councillors to vote today for a riverside route to fill the long-standing missing link in the Thames Path National…
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A fair exchange
In February the Planning Inspectorate approved an application from Mr Ewan Bumpstead to swap 418 square metres of common land in front of his property at Booker in Buckinghamshire with 2544 square metres in a nearby wood. We supported the application. When Mr Bumpstead bought the property in 2010 he knew that the land in…
Read MorePublic Right of Way to Crinnis Beach at Carlyon Bay
There is to be a Public Inquiry on Tuesday 10th June 2014 starting at 10.00 a.m. To be held in the Council Chamber at St Austell One Stop-Shop, 39 Penwinnick Road, St. Austell PL25 5DR. Cornwall Council has already found that this right exists, to mean high water mark. However, objections to this small, but…
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‘Pathfinder Pat’ dies aged 97, still fighting for rights of way in Kent
We are sad to report that Pat Wilson, our vice-president and local correspondent, who fought for paths and open spaces throughout Kent and Medway for more than 50 years, has died aged 97 at her home in Kent. Pat was our local correspondent for Medway for 20 years. Before that she served as Ramblers’ footpath…
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Spirit of Kinder celebrations, 26 April 2014
The annual Spirit of Kinder event, celebrating Kinder Scout and the 1932 mass trespass, will this year be held in Sheffield on Saturday, April 26. The event, which will also celebrate ten years of the implementation of the CROW Act which gave the right to walk freely in open country, is organised by the Kinder…
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Eyesore in South Devon beauty-spot
We have objected to plans by the Harlequin Group to erect a telecommunications mast and associated development in open countryside in south Devon. The application will be determined by South Hams District Council. The 15-metre high mast would be close to the listed Houghton Farm, a mile north of Ringmore, near Bigbury. It would also…
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Richard Harland, 1920 – 2013
We remember Richard Harland, our former vice-chairman who died aged 93 last November, and who made a quiet but significant contribution to commons and access. Richard Harland was a Quaker, a pacifist and campaigner, who loved beautiful landscapes and their history, and had a strong belief that people should be free to enjoy the countryside.…
Read MoreDeregulation Bill will help to get lost paths on the map
The Deregulation Bill, which is due for second reading in the House of Commons on Monday 3 February, will help to speed up claims for historic rights of way in England. The bill follows the recommendations in Stepping Forward, the report produced in 2010 by Natural England’s stakeholder working group on unrecorded highways. The group…
Read MoreWe urge Welsh environmental body to champion common land
We have urged Natural Resources Wales (NRW) to champion common land and to oppose government plans to weaken the law protecting village greens. The society has responded to NRW’s consultation, Planning our Future. We are concerned that nowhere in the document is there a mention of common land and its crucial role in securing a…
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Natural England’s new chairman jumps to reopen public paths on his land
Andrew Sells, the new chairman of Natural England, the government’s statutory adviser on countryside recreation, has hastily reopened a blocked right of way across his Wiltshire land following his appointment. Mr Sells, who is a venture capitalist and a major Tory party donor, was scrutinised by the House of Commons’ Environment, Food and Rural Affairs…
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