The Open Spaces Society, Britain’s leading pressure-group for the protection of common land, is pleased that Western Power Distribution (WPD) has withdrawn its proposal to place 15 electricity poles with an overhead line across Gwaun Cae Gurwen Common three miles north of Pontadawe in Neath Port Talbot.
WPD had sought consent from Welsh ministers for works on common land under section 38 of the Commons Act 2006. The Open Spaces Society, which is notified of all applications for works on common land, objected because of the adverse effect which the poles and electricity line would have on the open common. Walkers and riders have rights to roam over the common and their enjoyment would be impaired.
WPD has now said that it is withdrawing the application because it is pursuing an alternative option.
Says Kate Ashbrook, general secretary of the Open Spaces Society:
‘We are pleased that WPD has decided to withdraw the application. We were concerned about the intrusive effect of this development on the common and those who visit it for quiet enjoyment. It is close to a number of settlements and is a valuable recreational resource for those who live here. It is excellent that the proposal has been abandoned.’
About The Open Spaces Society:
Our principal work includes helping our members protect their local common land, town and village greens, open spaces and public paths, and answering their queries. We advise the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and National Assembly for Wales on applications for works on common land, and we are notified by local authorities whenever there is a proposal to alter the route of a public right of way. We campaign for changes in legislation to protect paths and spaces.
We have always been at the forefront of the campaigns to protect common land. 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 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 it broke the promise. More than a decade later, we won the right to walk on all those commons which previously had no access, subject to certain restrictions, under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.
There is a lot for a small society like ours to do, but we are persistent in our defence of your rights to enjoy the countryside and towns. We greatly appreciate the support of our members.
For more information please visit: www.oss.org.uk
