HC Deb 20 July 1993 vol 229 cc97-8W
Mr. Martlew

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many hectares are currently under agreement with the countryside stewardship scheme; how many hectares involved additional payments for public access in(a) England and (b) each county; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Yeo

There are 59, 836 hectares currently under agreement with the countryside stewardship scheme which is run by the Countryside Commission. Of these, 11, 596 hectares involve additional payments for open access. Payments are also being made for 190.4 km of linear access —payment for the creation of linear routes such as footpaths, bridleways and routes for those with mobility difficulties.

The breakdown of the access figures by county is as follows:—

County Open Access Hectares Linear Access Kilometres
Northumberland 893 14.2
Cumbria 358 6.8
Durham 261 2.5
County Open Access Hectares Linear Access Kilometres
Cleveland 40 2.7
Lancashire 61 7.6
Derbyshire 850 5.4
Merseyside Met 0 0.0
Greater Manchester 4 0.9
Cheshire 8 2.3
North Yorkshire 1,178 24.7
Humberside 62 2.2
South Yorkshire 13 0.4
West Yorkshire Met 0 0.0
Nottinghamshire 58 0.0
Shropshire 119 0.0
Staffordshire 18 2.6
Leicestershire 369 3.7
West Midland Met 0 0.0
Hereford and Worcester 163 0.1
Warwickshire 152 0.0
Northamptonshire 678 4.3
Lincolnshire 329 12.1
Cambridgeshire 189 5.6
Norfolk 282 14.9
Suffolk 193 2.5
Bedfordshire 67 0.0
Oxfordshire 107 1.5
Buckinghamshire 258 4.1
Hertfordshire 120 0.0
Essex 219 0.6
Berkshire 81 0.0
London 45 0.0
Hampshire 136 5.4
Surrey 156 0.2
Kent 298 2.1
West Sussex 317 1.1
East Sussex 431 11.0
Isle of Wight 111 4.1
Gloucestershire 180 5.9
Cornwall 810 12.0
Devon 361 6.8
Somerset 324 3.4
Avon 220 0.5
Wiltshire 718 13.6
Dorset 359 2.6

Countryside stewardship is a pilot scheme. The Countryside Commission has reviewed arrangements for publicising access in the light of its experience in the first two years of the experiment. The answer given by the then Minister for the Environment and Countryside on 2 April, Official Report, column 520, gives details of further steps being taken to improve information about public access.