Professional AdviceYou are here : News and Press » News Archive » Access to the Countryside » Grants
|
Cuts to open access funding does not bode well for improving access to coastal areas - 15 September 2006 David Fursdon, President of the Country Land & Business Association (CLA) raises concern about dramatic cuts to the Access Management Grants.
In the week that marks the second anniversary of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CROW) in England and the final board meeting of the Countryside Agency - in which it is expected that they will make their recommendation to their successor body, Natural England, on how to improve access to coastal areas (1) - David Fursdon, President of the Country Land & Business Association (CLA) (2) raised concern about dramatic cuts to the Access Management Grants. He said, 'these Grants are available to local authorities to fund the management of open access, such as signs, fences, information and gates. The Access Management Grant money has been reduced from £1.5million to £400,000. The Countryside Agency made the cuts as part of DEFRA's overall cost cutting measures. It has been widely acknowledged by the Countryside Agency and English Nature that proactive management of access has prevented problems arising on environmentally sensitive land – such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest.' He added, 'the Government promised that access would not incur any costs for landowners and this money was promised during the passage of the CROW legislation in 2000(3). If the Government cannot properly meet its promises to adequately fund what access we have already, this does not bode well for its ability to properly fund any access provision to coastal areas which, as are more dangerous and environmentally sensitive areas, will require more management and therefore more funding than open access.' The CLA has evidence that these cuts are having an impact on the ground already: In Yorkshire, a CLA member put in a bid of £6k for improved information boards which has not been forthcoming. They were also looking to pilot a scheme on a grouse moor which is also a common looking at the problem of uncontrolled dogs. The pilot is now delayed and may not go ahead. In Worcestershire, a countryside centre was led to believe that there would be a second year of Access Management Grant funding from the Countryside Agency only to be told that, due to the Natural England merger there would not now be any funding available. Two northwest county councils have said that a number of its access management projects will not be completed or shelved. One local authority in the West Midlands has lost £68K from its access budget. David Fursdon said, 'these cuts add to our concern that DEFRA want access on the cheap - this is not good news for the public, local authorities or land managers as they are left to resolve the problems on the ground with no resource. This inevitably leads to conflict and problems, which so far the funding through Access Management Grants has avoided. All we're asking is that DEFRA meets its promise.' |
Contact Sarah Slade MRICS
Media Contacts Ollie Wilson T: 020 7460 7936
T: 020 7460 7934
Join the CLA today
The CLA Game Fair 2012
More articles and documents [News Archive] [15 December 2008] GN07-08 England Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) Capital Grants Scheme 2008-09 [Guidance notes] [21 April 2008] Leicestershire Rural Partnership Economic Priority [Consultation response archive] [8 June 2009] |
A chartered surveyor with responsibility for CLA policy on public rights of way and access issues. Provides advice to members on issues arising from public access to the countryside.
- Policy Topics
- Policy Topics
- Site sections
- Specially for members
© 2012 Country Land and Business Association Limited (CLA). All rights reserved. No part of this website may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in any retrieval system of any nature without prior written permission of the copyright holder except as expressly permitted by law.
Disclaimer
No responsibility for loss occasioned to any person acting or refraining from action in reliance on or as a result of the material included in or omitted in this website can be or is accepted by the author(s), the CLA or its officers or trustees or employees or any other persons.
The Advisory Services are made available to members on the basis that members' rights to compensation and the liability (if any) of CLA and its officers and/or its staff advisers, are restricted in the following ways. In the event of any advice given by any CLA staff adviser being given negligently or otherwise being incorrect no liability whatsoever is accepted by the CLA or its officers or by its staff advisers concerned
(a) towards any person who is not the current CLA member to whom the advice was directly given,
(b) to any person in the respect of consequential loss or loss of profits, or
(c) to any person for any sum exceeding £50,000 in respect of any one enquiry (whether made or responded to orally or in writing and whether dealt with at one time or over a period of time).
Any person making use of the Advisory Services accepts such restrictions. Members should refer to appropriate professional advisers in private practice before taking any particular course of action potentially or actually involving any substantial amounts of money.
Please note that whilst the advisers are able to advise on a wide range of subjects relating to land ownership, they cannot act in place of a member's own solicitor, accountant, surveyor and tax specialist by, for example, drafting documents or corresponding on their behalf and may be precluded, by the rules of their own professions, from advising one CLA member against another CLA member in the case of conflict.
Solicitors Indemnity Fund . Solicitors in the CLA Legal Team are not covered by the Solicitors Indemnity Fund in relation to professional negligence in relation to any advice given by them.
Please note that from time to time telephone calls maybe recorded for training purposes.