The English countryside is a “business” and already has “hundreds of thousands of miles of public footpaths”, the minister said in response to questions about the “wandering right” report being postponed.
The comments from Mark Spencer, the leader of the house, came when campaign groups expressed outrage at the Treasury’s decision to postpone the review, which was tasked with seeking “a quantum change in the way our society supports people to access and commit to the outdoors ”.
The review, led by Lord Agnew, included a potential extension of the highly controversial “right to wander”, which campaign participants fear will not continue now. In response, activists are planning mass violations to raise awareness of how much of England’s land is outside the borders. The right to roam exists in only over 8% of the country.
right to roaming card
Spencer made remarks after Greens MP Caroline Lucas asked why the answers to Agnew’s report on making more of the province publicly available would not be published.
He said: “I think we are blessed in this country with hundreds of thousands of miles of public footpath that allows people to have access to the countryside. We must recognize that the countryside is not only a place for recreation, but also a place for business and food production.
Lucas replied: “Completely weak” protection “from the leader of the chamber in the government’s review of the abolition of the right to wander. Work and leisure are not incompatible – is this really the government’s excuse? ”
Ninety-two percent of England’s land is privately owned and inaccessible. The Rural and Road Rights Act (CRoW) of 2000 gives a legal right of public access to mountains, swamps, hills, some lowlands and municipalities, and the English coastal road. The participants in the campaign demanded that this be extended to include rivers, forests and lands in the green belt. Ninety-seven percent of rivers are off-limits to the public, and tens of thousands of acres of forest have benefited from public subsidies but remain publicly inaccessible.
This weekend, the Right to Wander campaign celebrates the 90th anniversary of Kinder Trespass in 1932, when hundreds of activists stormed the Kinder Scout in the Peak District. They were there to highlight the fact that pedestrians in England and Wales were denied access to outdoor areas.
Ramblers on Kinder Scout in 1932. Hundreds of activists stormed in to highlight the fact that pedestrians in England and Wales were denied access to open-air areas. Photo: Dave Bagnall Collection / Alamy
A group of vagrants will walk to the Kinder Scout on Sunday for the Kinder in Color event, which will be led by people of color.
Organizers said: “Even with the small number of access rights available to travelers, the province is still full of barriers to access, especially for blacks and people of color. With this in mind, we want to celebrate the legacy of Kinder Scout by creating a new culture for the countryside that is fully inclusive and encompasses differences. “
The Right to Wander campaign is planning a series of mass violations planned between May and September, including in Totnes on May 8 and West Berkshire on May 14, with more to come.
James McCall, head of Ramblers’ policy, advocacy and campaigns, said the UK government was not doing enough to improve access to the province.
He explained: “The government … is not using its own powers under the Environment Act to set targets for public access. His new farm payment scheme shows no signs of rewarding farmers for improving access to their land, despite repeated promises. The proposed changes in the planning system do not give priority to access to nature.
“As the Ramblers continue to campaign for access rights, this weekend we will celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Kinder Scout crime, a landmark protest to improve access to the countryside for all.
Access to these green open spaces is still very limited and unequal at the moment and Ramblers wants to see the government expand the freedom of wandering in England and Wales so that it is more easily accessible and better connected to our road network and our cities. ”
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