The Open Spaces Society, a leading pressure-group for the protection of paths and green spaces, has appointed Mrs Helen Slade as its local correspondent for the Isle of Wight.
Helen, who lives in Ventnor, will be the society’s eyes and ears, keeping a close watch on paths, commons, greens, open spaces and the progress of the coastal path on the Island and intervening as necessary.
Helen has recently retired after nearly 20 years as a rights-of-way inspector with the Planning Inspectorate, dealing with all types of rights-of-way cases, as well as commons and village greens, high hedges and hedgerow removal. Before this she was head of the countryside and rights of way section of Darlington Borough Council.
After moving to the Isle of Wight in 1999 she was appointed the South Downs Way National Trail officer before becoming the Isle of Wight Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Officer. She is a former president of the Institute of Public Rights of Way and Access Management.
Speaking about her new role, Helen has said:
“I am delighted to be appointed as local correspondent for the Open Spaces Society. I joined the society when I retired as a means of continuing my interest in public access and recreation. The Isle of Wight was the first, and only, local authority to achieve the Year 2000 Milestone target, set by the Countryside Commission, for opening up all its public rights of way. So, I hope not to find too many path problems!”
Kate Ashbrook, general secretary of the Open Spaces Society, says:
“We are thrilled to have attracted Helen to the voluntary post of local correspondent. With her long professional experience in public rights of way, access, commons and greens, and her love of the countryside, she is the ideal person to represent us on the Island”.
Article continues below this advertisement
i sincerely hope that she will be making a real nuisance of herself to developers, by having every large greenland housing scheme cancelled.
the islands biosphere status and the fact that the council declared a climate emergency, should mean that they do not permit any building on any land that contains plant life that removes C02 from the atmosphere
crack on Helen !
A new fur coat from those who ‘gain’ will be tried first, before the family pet is found missing should any objections come from those with more voice that us whingers on here.
Agree with you though, but due to massive increase from the world, much of it ‘third’ our country will now be ruined forever as they clamber here for an easy life, on the backs of all our ancestors who died fighting or just working long days to provide a future for ‘their’ loved ones, not some ungrateful chancer.