§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the compatibility between his proposals to extend the right of access on foot to open countryside without compensation and the Government's obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. [76969]
§ Mr. MeacherThe Government's view is that their plans for creating a new statutory right on foot to open countryside are compatible with their obligations under the European Convention on human rights. In deciding that there will be no general right to compensation, the Government have taken into account the limited nature of the new right of access; its application only to land which is undeveloped and not used for intensive agricultural purposes; the continued ability of landowners to develop and use their land after the introduction of the right; and the670W extensive provision made for closure of land for land management and other reasons. A cost benefit study for the Government, undertaken by independent consultants, supports the view that landowners will not suffer significant losses or costs as a result of a new right of access such as would warrant the provision of compensation.