Dear sir,
I am writing to raise awareness around the Countryside & Rights of Way (CRoW) Act. This gave us a partial Right to Roam over only about 8% of England. For the last two decades, we have had legal access to walk over certain landscapes (mountain, moor, commons and some downland, heath, and coastlines) without fear of trespassing. Currently less than 4% of rivers across England and Wales have a clear right of access.
But these sites are often remote, meaning that access to land has become a postcode lottery, available to those who live next to it, or who can afford the cost of travel and overnight stays. A new Private Members Bill has been presented to Parliament that proposes to extend a right of access to rivers, woods and greenbelt land. Green Party MP Caroline Lucas introduced the Bill to Parliament
Nature should be accessible for all. Access to the outdoors and wild spaces in particular is so important for good health. These natural environments have a huge benefit to our psychological and emotional wellbeing. In England, one in four people will experience a mental health problem of some kind each year. Nature is not the whole cure, but a key part of it. We, the public, can actively help to protect and restore nature, only if we are allowed the very access to it, in order to enjoy it.
Since the seventies the Linnet population has decreased by 53%, but how many of us can honestly say we even know what a Linnet is, let alone have seen one?
The right to roam is much more than this, it is a right to reconnect to the landscape where we live and to reconnect with fellow species we share the land with.
The government earlier this year quashed a review into the right to roam in England’s countryside. Conservative ministers say that while this may sound like an attractive idea, they are concerned about the public causing disruption to rural businesses and littering. Yet in Scotland,there is a right to roam, there has been a lot of education about responsible access to the countryside, and the system seems to work pretty well.
They have strict rules about leaving the areas in a better state than they found them, for example by picking up litter, and sticking to forest tracks and paths so as not to disturb wildlife.
The recent campaign ‘Right to Roam’ states ‘Responsible wild camping leaves no trace on the countryside – but it leaves a huge impression on everyone who experiences it.
Access to nature is critical to our public health. Physical inactivity costs the NHS around £1bn per year, and wider society around £7.4bn per year. Passing a law to extend our right to roam in nature costs, in the context of these figures, next to nothing’
Winning the ‘Right to roam’ campaign is backed by Ramblers, British Canoeing association, 100 leading authors, musicians, artists and actors such a Steven Fry and Sir Mark Rylance.
Congleton is of course very lucky to have access to the likes of Biddulph valley way, Dane in Shaw, Astbury Mere, Priestly Fields, Timbersbrook are all examples of stunning countryside we have access to. We can not take them for granted. Protecting such areas from development has never been more important.
The Green Party will extend the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 to provide wider public access such as that granted in Scotland by the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003. Access Authorities will ensure that the law is properly implemented. Public access to woods and plantations will be protected. This is why we desperately need to extend the right to roam.