CAsays more access will help bridge divide
CAsays more access will help bridge divide
GIVING people greater access to the countryside will help bridge the divide between urban and rural dwellers, claims the Countryside Agency.
Pam Warhurst, deputy chairman said, looking beyond the foot-and-mouth crisis, increased access would improve understanding of farming and the farming community.
"There are great benefits and great opportunities in the wider social sense, which is what makes this particular act so important," she told journalists at a briefing in London.
Ms Warhurst was speaking before a conference on the new Countryside and Rights of Way (CROW) act on Tuesday (Feb 27).
The aim of the conference was to give people ranging from landowners to ramblers a chance to debate the steps being taken to implement the new act.
Bob Roberts, head of the agencys access branch, confirmed that mapping of the areas which will eventually be open to the public in England had already started in the south east and north west.
The first draft maps are expected to be published for consultation in the autumn.
He said once the mapping had been completed in the two lead regions the exercise would be extended so that bands were completed across the south and north of England. The south west peninsular would be next on the list before finally moving to the midlands and eastern England.
Meanwhile, Scottish farmers are bracing themselves for a fight against right-to-roam proposals put forward last week.
The Scottish NFU has branded the proposals as a cop out by the Scottish Executive. President Jim Walker said: "This bill fails to deliver a balanced package and impinges on the rights of individuals to manage their businesses without serious hindrance." *