Support us from £3/month
We deal with almost 1000 cases a year assisting communities, groups and individuals in protecting their local spaces and paths in all parts of England and Wales. Can you help us by joining as a member?
Activists for greater rights of public access to the countryside, gathering at Hebden Bridge town hall in Calderdale on 29 November, called on the government to legislate for access to the land and inland waters of England for outdoor recreation and enjoyment of nature.
Walkers at the Mere Stones, north of Hebden Bridge, mark the 25th anniversary of the CROW Act which gave them the right to walk here. Photo: Open Spaces Society
This was the eve of the 25th anniversary of the landmark Countryside and Rights of Way (CROW) Act[1].
They unanimously adopted the Hebden Bridge Declaration[2] with its vision of ‘An England where all her people can enjoy the benefits of outdoor recreation and access to nature’.
The conference, Freedom to Roam: the Next Step, heard stirring speeches from Kate Ashbrook, general secretary of the Open Spaces Society; Amy-Jane Beer of Right to Roam; Jack Cornish from the Ramblers; Andy MacNae, MP for Rossendale and Darwen and chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on outdoor recreation and access to nature, and his co-chair Phil Brickell, MP for Bolton. The event was chaired by Pam Warhurst[3].
Following a celebration of the milestone CROW Act, which gave us freedom to walk on registered common land and mapped mountain, moor, heath, and down, there was discussion about what access was required today to meet people’s current needs. It was agreed that the CROW Act, brilliant though it was at the time, is not enough for modern needs, for everyone to be able enjoy the outdoors.
Says Kate Ashbrook: ‘The conference gave a clear message to ministers that we need new laws to extend access rights so that everyone can enjoy countryside, both close to home and further afield. There are many ways of achieving this, and we would also want to see our public rights-of-way network properly protected, recorded, and improved.
‘As I told the conference, when we were campaigning for the CROW Act, ministers were enthusiastic about extending access rights. Sadly, none of our current Defra ministers has celebrated the CROW Act’s 25th anniversary. We hope they will pay attention to the strong message from Hebden Bridge—we need a new law, soon.’
Before the conference, many of the participants joined a walk to the Mere Stones, high up on the South Pennine moors north of Hebden Bridge. The Mere Stones, and all the surrounding moorland, were banned territory, with ‘keep out’ signs, before the implementation of the CROW Act.
[1] The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 received royal assent on 30 November 2000. It resulted in a right to walk being created over about 1.5 million hectares (6,400 square miles) in England and Wales.
[2]The text of the Hebden Bridge declaration is:
On the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act:
- we celebrate the access rights it introduced
- we note that despite the Act there remain significant limitations in the opportunities for access to the countryside in England
- we call on the government to introduce ambitious new legislation for access to the land and inland waters of England for outdoor recreation and appreciation of nature.
Adopted unanimously at the Freedom to Roam: the Next Step national conference held in Hebden Bridge Town Hall, 29 November 2025.
[3]Pam Warhurst, among many other roles, is founder and chair of Todmorden’s Incredible Edible, former chair of the Forestry Commission and of Pennine Prospects, and vice-chair of the Countryside Agency which was responsible for achieving the CROW Act on the ground.