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Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000

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Some CROW issues elsewhere on this website

CROW Act News 2005
New freedom to walk in south-west England - 8 September
Dismay at Vixen Tor access decision
We fight for right to roam on Dartmoor landmark sites

CROW Act News 2004
DEFRA: Access rights introduced in Central Southern England
DEFRA: Commencement date announced for the upper North West and North East England
Right to Roam started 19th September
ACCESS BEGINS (updated)
ACCESS BEGINS

CROW Act Responses 2002

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8 September 2005
NEW FREEDOM TO WALK IN SOUTH-WEST ENGLAND

We celebrated the introduction on Sunday 28 August of a new right for the public to roam, freely but responsibly, on mapped land in south-west England. Kate Ashbrook, our general secretary, who is also president of the Dartmoor Preservation Association and chairman of the Ramblers’ Association’s Access Committee, spoke at Venford reservoir on Dartmoor, where about 100 people rallied at the start of a walk to celebrate the new right on Dartmoor.

Said Kate: ‘Today we can for the first time walk legally on significant new areas of land which have been mapped as open country on Dartmoor and elsewhere in south-west England. We shall walk today on the newtake below Henroost mine where for years our way has been barred by a padlocked gate⁽¹⁾, and on the land above the West Dart between Huccaby and Saddle Bridge, to which we had no right of access in the past. And others today will be enjoying their new rights to wander on land on Bodmin Moor, Exmoor and the Quantock Hills, for instance.

‘Although this is all welcome, we have not won as much new access under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act as we had hoped.

The mapping system and definitions of access land meant that much land which we consider ought to have been included was omitted. The Open Spaces Society will work with the Ramblers’ Association and other organisations to see what further new access can be obtained, by pressing for new laws, and using the opportunities from the new agricultural payment-schemes. The campaign for responsible access continues. But today let us celebrate what we have won,’ Kate declared.


^(1). The newtake, which belongs to the Duchy of Cornwall, contains an ancient right of way, known as the Henroost Mine track, which the Ramblers’ Association, Dartmoor Preservation Association and others tried to claim as a public right of way, after Duchy tenants challenged its use in 1982. The path was then the subject of court cases and a public inquiry, but unfortunately it was ruled not to be a public right of way. Now the public has gained a right to walk on the whole newtake, including the route of the path.
 

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2 March 2005
DISMAY AT VIXEN TOR ACCESS DECISION

We are dismayed that a public-inquiry inspector has ruled that land surrounding Vixen Tor, near Sampford Spiney on Dartmoor, is not open-access land. The area will thus not be shown on the Countryside and Rights of Way Act access map, to take effect in August this year, and the public will have no right to go there.⁽¹⁾

The society had objected to the appeal by Mrs Mary Alford and her son Daniel against the inclusion of Vixen Tor [field 7] on the access map.  The dispute was heard at a public inquiry last month. Other objectors included the Ramblers’ Association, the Dartmoor Preservation Association, the British Mountaineering Council, and the Countryside Agency which was responsible for mapping the land.

Says Kate Ashbrook, our general secretary: ‘The decision is a kick in the teeth to those of us who have fought for freedom to roam on open country and have for years wandered freely and responsibly over this lovely area. Vixen Tor is, we believe, just the sort of land which government ministers intended, and the public expected, that the right-to-roam act should include.  The sphinx-like rock of Vixen Tor is a Dartmoor mecca, much loved and visited by local people and visitors from far and wide, whether for climbing or enjoying a stroll,’ Kate continues. 'In the past people roamed freely here, but when the Alfords bought the land they erected private notices and padlocked the gates. People still found a way in, and I doubt that they will be deterred now from enjoying their traditional freedoms here.

‘The decision turned on the vegetation of the land and whether it qualified as mountain, moor, heath or down. In fact, it was a close call. The inspector David Pinner, on the advice of his assistant inspector Janet Forbes (a qualified botanist and ecologist), considered that there was more of the qualifying vegetation than not—so you would have thought it would be ruled as access land. But Janet Forbes wrote: ‘the matter is very finely balanced and not conclusive’. Both inspectors were cautious and gave the benefit of the doubt to the appellants, Mary and Daniel Alford.

‘Clearly this is of great concern to us, and we hope the objectors will seek professional advice on the next steps, to try and save this land for access,’ Kate declares.  ‘The irony is that the Alfords claimed to want to keep people out because they were worried about liability if someone had an accident on the rocks—but under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act, landowners and occupiers of access land are exempt from liability, and the public has to take its own risks. So the Alfords’ liability is greater if the land is not on the access map.

‘The good news is that the large moorland expanse of Merrivale Newtake, and another field at Vixen Tor [‘field 6] to the east of the rock, have been declared access land, so at least we shall have the right to walk there’ Kate concludes.


1. The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CROW Act) requires the Countryside Agency to prepare maps of access land in England. Access land is all registered common land and open country (mountain, moor, heath and down). Vixen Tor and Merrivale Newtake were mapped as open country on the provisional map. Anyone with a legal interest in the land may appeal against the land being shown on the provisional map, as the Alfords did here.
 

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27 January 2005
We fight for right to roam on Dartmoor landmark sites

Vixen Tor: access barred

We are objecting to the appeal by Mrs Mary Alford and her son Daniel who want Vixen Tor and Merrivale Newtake, landmark sites in the Dartmoor National Park, to be struck off the right-to-roam map. The society has submitted written evidence to the public inquiry in Two Bridges on Monday (24 January). The inquiry will hear the Alfords’ appeals against these areas being shown as access land.

Says Kate Ashbrook our general secretary: ‘The impressive rocks of Vixen Tor and their surroundings, and the extensive moorland known as Merrivale Newtake, should both be mapped as access land. This is just the sort of territory on which we have long campaigned for the right to roam. It is wild open country.

‘The Alfords have barred the public from enjoying land which was, before they purchased it, freely open to walkers and climbers. We look to the Countryside and Rights of Way Act to restore that access,’ Kate continues.

‘These areas are treasured by thousands of people—both locals and visitors. It is vital that the public inquiry inspector agrees with us and the many other objectors that all the land complies with the definition of access land. If he does not, the public will lose a wonderful amenity and we shall be forced to find other means of securing access to the land. We shall not be kept out,’ Kate declares.
 

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21 December 2004
Access rights introduced in Central Southern England

Defra has announced that the introduction of the right of access in the central Southern region (mapping area 3) duly took place on Tuesday 14 December. Bill Oddie, the wildlife broadcaster, formally opened access at a ceremony at the Heatherland Centre in Ferndown, near Bournemouth, before leading a series of walks across the heath. The Commencement Order [Statutory Instrument 2004 No.3088 (C.128)], which brought into effect the new right of access in this area, can be viewed at:

http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/si/si2004/20043088.htm

 

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21 December 2004
Commencement date announced for the upper North West and North East England

Alun Michael has announced that the right of access will be introduced in the upper North West and North East (mapping areas 4 and 5) on 28 May 2005. A Defra Press Release was issued on 17 December and is available at:

http://defra/news/2004/041217b.htm
 

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21 May 2004 updated5 July 2004
Access begins

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23 May 2002
England access maps delayed

There will be a delay in the Countryside Agency’s publication of access maps. The draft map for region 3 (south) will be published in September to enable the agency to acquire aerial photographs to assist with mapping. Draft maps for region 4 (upper north west) will be published in October. The provisional maps for regions 1 (south east) and 2 (lower north west) will be published in July and September respectively.

To see the latest timetable click www.countryside.gov.uk/access/mapping

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6 November 2001
Maps of access land in England

On 12 November, the Countryside Agency will publish draft maps showing access land for the first two of eight mapping regions, the South East and the Lower North West. The maps are the first step in delivering the new right of access under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, which received royal assent on 30 November last year.

The South East consists of Surrey, Kent, West Sussex, East Sussex and the London Boroughs of Hillingdon, Hounslow, Richmond upon Thames, Kingston upon Thames, Merton, Sutton, Croydon, Bromley and Bexley.

The Lower North West covers Lancashire (excluding a small area north of the A65), a small part of Cumbria south of the A65, part of North Yorkshire, Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and the parts of Staffordshire, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire that lie within the Peak District National Park.

The draft maps should show all the registered common land in these areas (as depicted on the commons registration maps, held by the county and unitary councils). They should also show all land which is wholly or predominantly mountain, moor, heath and down.

We have three months, until 11 February 2002, in which to comment on the content of the draft maps, and this is our only opportunity to influence which land will be included as access land.

Maps will be available on the Countryside Agency website, and in some local authority offices, libraries, national park visitor centres and Countryside Agency offices and at roadshows in the two regions. The agency will provide forms for responses.

Open Spaces Society representatives, along with the Ramblers’ Association will check the maps on the ground to ensure that every bit of eligible land is included on the maps.

The Countryside Agency has discretion not to show areas of open country which it considers to be so small as to serve ‘no useful purpose’. We need to check each of these to argue that it does serve a useful purpose. It may also move a boundary of open country so that it coincides with a physical feature, and we must ensure that we do not lose access land as a result.

After the draft maps the Countryside Agency will publish provisional maps, against which only those with an interest in the land may appeal. Conclusive maps for regions 1 and 2 are expected in January 2003. However, we don’t get the right of access until the maps are confirmed by the Secretary of State. We are pressing for the access rights to be confirmed region by region, rather than wait for the last (eighth) region to be finalised in September 2004. The Secretary of State is considering our request.

For details of roadshows, where you can view maps, and how you can respond, ring the Access Mapping Helpline on 0845 100 3298, or visit the website www.countryside.gov.uk/access/ mapping

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30 January 2001

PARTS OF COUNTRYSIDE ACT 
 TAKE EFFECT

On 30 January parts of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 come into force.  However, the new right to walk on uncultivated land must await completion of the access maps and publication and regulations, and will not take effect until probably 2003.

Some of the provisions which come into effect on 30 January: 

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