Open Spaces Society has sent our nine-point plan for the new Senedd to our members in Wales to use when speaking to their candidates in the forthcoming election. Here is the manifesto. (Cymraeg yma) ________________________________________________ The opportunity for people to enjoy open spaces and paths, for their relaxation, health, well-being, and appreciation of nature, has…
The society is pleased that the government has set out some encouraging steps for more and better public access in its Environmental Improvement Plan (published 1 December), but we want to know when they will happen. We welcome the government’s plans to ‘consult on measures to ensure that everyone has access to nature close to home and…
An amendment[1] to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, due to be debated in the House of Lords on Monday 3 November, aims to remove long-standing public rights on green spaces when the land is sold by a local authority. We are urging peers to oppose it. The amendment would make it much easier for local authorities…
The attempt by the Duke of Beaufort’s Somerset Trust to take part of Clyne Common at West Cross for housing development has finally been refused. The deputy minister, Huw Irranca-Davis, has rejected the trust’s application to deregister 2.8 hectares on the eastern side of the common (the ‘release land’) and replace it with 3.4 hectares…
The Open Spaces Society are delighted that the Senedd has repealed the 2026 cut-off date for public rights of way in Wales[1].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…
Before and after the removal of the illegal gates. Photo: Open Spaces Society We are celebrating the newly-reopened path which leads from Cwmparc, Treorchy, in Rhondda Cynon Taf to the hills above. The popular public highway was illegally obstructed by locked gates, two metres high, in February. The community, with the society’s support, has campaigned…
Cwmparc Gate Obstruction Update – a meeting was held today between senior Council officers and the Leader of the Council, in which legal advice was provided on the current situation. Public responses on the link https://www.facebook.com/RCTCouncil
Blocked Public Footpath Dare Valley County Park Updated as of Monday, 16th December 2024 FB Tim Phillips is no longer the Definitive Map Officer so I have deleted his details. For those of us that regularly walk in and around the Dare Valley Country Park you may remember that the right of way path at…
Richard Clarke, a member of the Open Spaces Society, writes about the shenanigans at Cwmparc, Treorchy, in Rhondda Cynon Taf The quiet community of Cwmparc, Treorchy, nestled beneath the dramatic Rhondda mountainside in South Wales, has always cherished its easy access to the open land above. For generations, locals have walked, cycled, and ridden horses along…
Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s “MY MAPS” service is intended to clearly show where Public Rights of Way (PROW) are located throughout the county. However, when users attempt to zoom in for more detail, the paths frustratingly disappear from view. This raises serious questions about why the Council’s Countryside Section is presenting the information in such…
