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In February of this year, the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) proposed a 'radical shake-up' of the access and public rights of way system. In their report 'The Right Way Forward', they recommend a rationalisation and ‘common sense’ approach to remove the bureaucracy and anomalies in the current regulations and administration of the system.
Their proposals have infuriated
organisations like The Ramblers and The Open Spaces Society who see this as the
breaking of an agreement made two years ago within a working group set up to look at the future of
rights of way.
Amongst the proposals are a reduction
in the protection for existing Rights-of-Way making it easier for a path to be
re-routed or closed. They are also calling
for the greater use of the 'Permissive' status (which is a transitory
arrangement) for paths rather than the more formal definition of a footpath as
a legally enforceable public highway. Furthermore, they would like to bring forward the full implementation of the provision in
the 2000 CROW Act, for claiming any historic pathway not previously recorded,
which currently has a 2026 cut-off point.
Another recommendation is
that the responsibility for an individual's safety would become that of the individual
who, if found not to be complying with the Countryside Code, would not be able
to seek legal redress.
The proposals in the CLA's
report are also particularly worrying when taken in the context of other
Government initiatives such as those aimed at reducing environmental
legislation, the Macdonald review of farming legislation and ongoing changes in
planning regulations.
For more information you can download the full
report from: http://www.cla.org.uk/Policy_Work/Policy_Reports/Access_to_the_Countryside/Rights_of_Way/1009310.htm/
Best
Anne
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