Thank you for contacting me about improving access to nature.
Our countryside is of great importance and I fully appreciate the benefits of outdoor activities, both physically and mentally. The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 provides for a right to roam across open access land, giving the public a right of access to most areas of mountain, moor, heath, down, registered common land and coastal margin. England has a fantastic network of footpaths and the public has the ‘right to roam’ over many areas of wild, open countryside.
I note the comments made by some correspondents about the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to amend the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. While I will continue to follow this issue and the Bill’s progress, I am assured that the Government is already taking steps to promote access to the countryside.
The Government is supporting and enhancing access to the countryside through the England Coast Path, which is being renamed the ‘King Charles III England Coast Path’. Nearly 800 miles of the coastal path are now open and all 2,700 miles will be fully walkable by the end of 2024. The Government’s Environmental Improvement Plan 2023 sets out a new and ambitious commitment that everyone should live within 15 minutes’ walk of a green or blue space.
The £14.5 million Access for All programme included targeted improvements to increase access in some of our most deprived urban areas. The £9 million Levelling Up Parks Fund, which is improving the condition and availability of green space for over 100 communities in urban areas across the country. The Green Infrastructure Framework will help local authorities and developers incorporate green infrastructure into development plans to improve access to nature on our doorsteps and build resilience to climate change.
Ministers have also been investing £2 billion in walking and cycling over this Parliament, building hundreds of miles of high-quality cycle lanes increasing access to a range of places including green spaces. The Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy includes a commitment to increase opportunities for all children and young people to spend time in nature, learn more about it, and get involved in improving their environment.
Wild Camping
The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 provides the public a right of access to areas of mountain, moor, heath, down, registered common land and coastal margin in England. I understand that there are no plans to change this. The Government committed in its Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) to work to help ensure that everyone lives within a 15-minute walk of a green or blue space. However, Ministers also recognise that to restore nature, as per the environmental targets recently set out in the EIP, we need to enjoy its beauty responsibly.
The Government recognises the need to balance the needs of all those who live and work in the countryside with those who visit to ensure that public access brings all the benefits we know it can without affecting nature recovery and food production or security.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
Craig Whittaker MP
May 2023