THE battle over a 'village green' in Caerwent has won the support of the Open Spaces Society in its latest report on court cases which threaten village greens.

Kate Ashbrook, the general secretary of the Open Spaces Society writes: "Last year the government pledged to make a "new designation ... to protect green areas of particular importance to local communities".  Yet nothing has happened, and open spaces are as threatened as ever."

Her report focuses on court cases which are potentially threatening village greens at Markham and Little Frances, near Weymouth in Dorset, Yeadon in Leeds and Caerwent in Monmouthshire, the last of which has already been partially wrecked by a developer.

Kate says: "Efforts by local people to secure their green spaces are surely in line with David Cameron's so-called Big Society (however ill-defined) but increasingly the applicants for village greens are thwarted by threats of court action, while the registration authorities, which now have even less money than before, are unlikely to give priority to processing applications."

The society urges people to identify land which is eligible for registration as a green before developers make approaches.

"In a fast-changing world, people need to know that the places they love, however scruffy and unassuming, are safe for ever.  The government's new designation for green spaces must achieve just that—before it's too late."

•The Open Space magazine also reports on the government's recent U-turn on forestry sales.