Government denies right to roam claims
Government denies right to roam claims
THE government has denied recent press speculation that it is about to introduce statutory right to roam legislation.
To the relief of the Country Landowners Association, environment minister Michael Meacher confirmed that the government has not decided to legislate and will not take a final judgement until it had considered all the responses to the access consultation document it released earlier this year.
In response to a parliamentary question, Mr Meacher said: "We are considering carefully all options, both statutory and voluntary, in the light of extensive consultation. We intend to announce our conclusion later this year.
"If we decide that a new statutory right of access is necessary, we will introduce legislative proposals as soon as practicable, taking into account competing priorities for parliamentary time."
The CLA opposes the idea of legislation. *