Open Spaces Society

The society was founded as the Commons Preservation Society and merged with the National Footpaths Society in 1899, becoming the Commons and Footpaths Preservation Society. It later renamed itself the Commons, Open Spaces and Footpaths Preservation Society, before adopting the present name. An early example of direct action taken by the society was its overnight removal of two miles of railings that enclosed Berkhamsted common in 1866 with the aid of 120 people. The society also campaigned for the creation of the National Trust. Its founders and early members included John Stuart Mill, Lord Eversley, William Morris, Sir Robert Hunter, and Octavia Hill. The last two founded the National Trust in 1895 along with Canon Rawnsley. Lord Eversley, as George Lefevre, was a Liberal member of parliament and became a junior minister at the Board of Trade in Gladstone’s government. He held other posts, including Commissioner of Works, and opened Hampton Court Park, Kew Gardens and Regent’s Park to the public. ==Subsequent growth==

Over the last century and a half the Society has preserved commons for the enjoyment of the public. It has also been active in protecting the historical and vital rights-of-way network through England and Wales. Its early successes included saving Hampstead Heath from gravel extraction, Epping Forest, Wimbledon Common, Ashdown Forest, and the Malvern Hills. After both world wars the society’s difficult task was to reinstate much common land which had been used for defence and food production. In the late 1960s, following the enactment of the Commons Registration Act 1965, the Open Spaces Society worked hard to register common land and common rights. ==Function==

The stated objectives of the Society are: ==Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000==

In 1986, the "Common Land Forum", comprising all the interests in common land, recommended that there should be a public right to walk on all commons in England and Wales, coupled with management of the land. (All commons have a landowner, ranging from a public body to a private individual.) The then government backed the forum’s proposals for legislation and promised to introduce such a law – but did not. More than a decade later, with the Open Spaces Society's help the right was won under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, to walk on all those commons which previously had no access, subject to certain restrictions. The primary case involved 13 hectares of land in south Lancaster, the Mooreside Fields, owned by Lancashire County Council. The land had been available for public use for over 50 years. According to the Commons Act 2006, land used for informal recreation for at least 20 years can be registered as a green and is then protected from development. (The Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013 specified that land designated for planning applications could not be registered as a village green, but that did not apply in the Moorside Fields case.) The Moorside Fields Community Group attempted to register the lands in 2016 under the Commons Act. The local authority challenged the registration, wanting to retain control of the lands for future expansion of the nearby Moorside Primary School's playing fields. The council's challenge failed in the High Court and then in the Court of Appeal; the registration of the land as a village green could proceed. Lancashire County Council subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. In the appeal decision, cited as R (on the application of Lancashire County Council) (Appellant) v Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Respondent) the Supreme Court overturned the previous judgments. At the same time, the court also ruled against the registration of lands in a separate case in Surrey involving the 2.9 hectare Leach Grove Wood at Leatherhead, owned by the National Health Service. After publication of the decision in the Moorside Fields case, Lancashire County Council told the news media that the court had "protect[ed] this land for future generations". This could have far-reaching ramifications in England and Wales, according to the Open Spaces Society. ==References==