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We have questioned what the government’s plan to protect 30 per cent of England for nature will do for public access.
The society welcomes the government’s commitment to provide funding, particularly for protected landscapes, to restore nature, and notes that it also promises to ‘improve access to green space’. The government statement says that ‘the country’s new national forests are a key part of that’.
Says Kate Ashbrook, our general secretary: ‘We are unclear how the national forests will provide permanent new access where people need it. If the plan is for time-limited access agreements, that is totally inadequate. We need new public rights of way, and permanent access land, to ensure that people can enjoy these areas in perpetuity.
‘We are also keen for access where people need it most, close to home where it is easily reached, particularly by those from deprived communities. The government is committed to providing green or blue space within 15 minutes’ walk of everyone’s homes, and we are eager for this to happen.
‘The government has also promised a green paper on public access, and this is now urgently needed. In securing the 30 by 30 target, of 30 per cent of England protected by 2030, the government must equally think about how to enable people to discover, explore, and enjoy nature. Only by experiencing it can people be inspired to campaign for it.
‘We shall continue to press the government to act for public access without delay,’ Kate concluded.