Access to the Countryside (Hansard, 30 November 1983)

§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennett (Denton and Reddish)

I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to increase access to the countryside. I make no apology for introducing a Bill that is similar to the one that I introduced in 1982, in effect, about a walkers' charter. When I introduced that Bill I hoped that it would receive Government support. Sadly, the Government chose to block it. On this occasion, I hope that they will think again.

I remind the Government that about one in five adults enjoy walking as a recreation. Nevertheless, over the past 20 years or so the opportunities for walking in this country have steadily been reduced. They have been reduced because many country lanes which 20 or 30 years ago were attractive for walking now have cars and other traffic, making them much less attractive for walkers and much less safe. Much countryside has been lost as a result of the ploughing up of downland and moorland and the draining of marshes. Furthermore, we have seen the spread of urban conurbations into the surrounding areas where people were previously able to walk.

A further problem is that, because of the increasing number of people who go into the countryside, many of the popular beauty spots in the areas where people most enjoy walking are becoming increasingly overcrowded. The process becomes self-defeating. If one goes into the countryside for peace and quiet and to enjoy nature, one finds as many crowds there as in urban areas. It is, therefore, important to search for new areas of access and make it possible for people to go to those new areas which in the past were restricted. The Bill aims to do that.

The Bill also seeks to make sure that footpaths are kept free from obstruction. In discussions that I had today with various people about the Bill, four different people told me about footpaths which farmers had blocked with barbed wire. It is amazing how concerned the Conservative party is about law and order, except when it comes to forcing farmers to keep footpaths open. I hope that the Government will make it clear that all footpaths should be kept free from obstruction.

The Bill seeks to make it possible for temporary diversions round fields where farmers are ploughing or where there are bulls for the time being. It should not be impossible for the Government to design a simple diversion procedure.

Next, the Bill seeks to make it possible for walkers to have the right of access to all moorland, woodland, publicly owned open space, the coast, and other areas where they would not cause damage. People should have the right of access unless the owner of the land applies to 900 a court for an order prohibiting people from going there. That would solve the problem of access which many people had hoped would be solved by the national parks legislation in the 1940s. Sadly, most of the national parks sparingly use their powers to introduce access agreements. My Bill would reverse that and increase access to larger areas of countryside where people would do no harm and could have a great deal of pleasure.

The Bill then deals with the creation of new rights of way, particularly bearing in mind the way in which leisure activities have developed. In many areas the old footpath network served the local communities, but they do not serve leisure activities particularly well. There is a need to signpost and waymark footpaths and to make definitive maps available so that members of the public can see where the rights of way are, particularly when they are obstructed or ploughed up by farmers.

The Bill seeks to produce a code of practice so that walkers, ramblers and other people who go into the countryside to seek peace and quiet are not disturbed by motorbike scrambling or people using off-road vehicles which roam the countryside destroying the peace and quiet, particularly of the green lanes of the downs of southern England. The Bill also seeks to find ways to reclaim some country lanes by reducing car access to them and allowing them to become walking routes.

Finally, the Bill seeks to ensure that all local authorities have footpath officers who can promote footpaths and the efficient use of the countryside. It is unfortunate that many of the metropolitan counties which have just started to take footpaths seriously now find that the Government intend to get rid of those footpath officers and return their duties to the districts which, in many cases, paid little or no attention to them.

The Bill seeks to improve access to the countryside, and I hope that on this occasion the Government will assist its passage and not block it, as in the past.