Landowners may face access laws
30 September 1998
Landowners may face access laws
MINISTERS have come under pressure to introduce “right to roam” laws after a report revealed that landowners have failed to give greater access to the countryside.
Environment Minister Michael Meacher, speaking at the Labour Party annual conference in Blackpool, said landowners needed to increase access to privately owned mountains, moors, heaths, downs and commons.
He denied that the Governments plans to solve the dispute by voluntary agreement with landowners was a climbdown, indicating that legislation could still be introduced.
A survey by the Ramblers Association found that the landowners “access register”, compiled to prove landowners commitment to extending access to their land, lists only paths already open to the public.
Twenty-five Labour MPs will stage a walk today in support of a statutory right to roam.
The Daily Telegraph reports that the Duke of Westminster has opened up 607 hectares (1,500 acres) of his Abbeystead estate to the public.