SLF says freedom to roam would cause more harm than good

23 April 1998

SLF says ‘freedom to roam’ would cause more harm than good

LAWS giving people greater access to the countryside could cause more problems than solutions, a Scottish Landowners Federation (SLF) conference at Battleby, near
Perth, heard yesterday.

The Government has warned that it will pass legisalation granting people greater access the countryside unless farmers and landowners make their properties more accessible to ramblers.

Andrew Dingwall Fordyce, SLF convener, said he hoped members could prove the voluntary way would be sufficient. Henry Murdoch, convener of the National
Farmers Unions legal and commercial committee, warned that legalised freedom to
roam would be so circumscribed by conditions that those seeking enhanced access
might be worse off than they are at present.

But Rennie McOwan, a campaigner to achieve freedom to roam in the hills, said
legislation was inevitable.

• The Scotsman 23/04/98 page 30