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CLA and NFU say Government must keep bargain on end of old rights of way claims The CLA and NFU today (Thursday, 25 March) said they were "relieved" that Natural England has accepted the recommendations of the Stakeholder Working Group on Unrecorded Rights of Way. But both organisations stressed it is vital that the Government keeps its side of the bargain with the 2026 cut-off date for recording historic rights of way.
They said that currently farmers and land mangers can find themselves facing a claim that there is a public right of access across their land based purely on evidence dating back centuries.
CLA President William Worsley said: "The situation over the Discovering Lost Ways project is ridiculous. We are very pleased the end is in sight, even though it may still be some way off. "People's homes or businesses could be damaged by erroneous claims that, because the public had a right to cross that stretch of land in ancient times, they still do, even if that right has not been exercised for decades or even centuries." He added: "The CROW Act, passed in 2000, contains the 2026 cut-off date, so Natural England's acceptance of the Stakeholder Working Group's recommendations is no more than a backing of Parliament's will that an end to uncertainty on this issue is necessary."
NFU President Peter Kendall said: "For NFU members this package of proposals for reform would mean an end to claims coming 'out of the blue' which are based on historical evidence and have no place in a modern farming business.
"Any opportunity to avoid conflicts between Rights of Way and current land use will mean farmers and growers are able to focus on the primary task at hand; namely producing food and managing their land. It could also see an end to the current situation where applications for Rights of Way, which are supported by poor evidence, can end up blighting a property for many years." Natural England's Stepping Forward report recommends that unless historic rights are officially recorded by 2026, they should disappear for ever. After 2026, it will no longer be possible for anyone to claim, on purely historic grounds, that a right of way crosses someone's land. However, this recommendation can only be implemented if all the other recommendations in the report are also acted on. The CLA and the NFU have called on the Government to make clear how it intends to implement the recommendations as a matter of urgency. |
Contact Christopher Price
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More articles and documents [News Archive] [23 February 2012] Coastal Access (England only)- Background and Government Response to DEFRA Consultation and Pre-legislative Scrutiny of Part 9 Draft Marine Bill [Guidance notes] [7 October 2008] Natural England Consultation on the activiation and expiry of fire prevention restrictions under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act (CRoW) 2000 [Consultation response archive] [1 October 2007] |
Christopher Price is the Director Policy and Advice at the CLA. He has overall responsibility for managing all the CLA's national policy and advisory work. He makes sure that the organisation's policy work is focused on what matters most, and that members' queries are dealt with accurately and efficiently. A planning and environmental lawyer by background, he joined the CLA as public law adviser in 2002. He became Chief Legal Advisor in 2007 and took up his current post a year later. Before coming to the CLA Christopher worked in local government for a number of different authorities.
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