§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the separate commencement dates made under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 to allow access to the open countryside as soon as practicable after the conclusive maps have been completed and approved for each region. [13868]
§ Alun MichaelThe following provisions in Part 1 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 came into force on 30 January 2001: section 1 and Schedule 1, sections 3 to 11 and Schedule 3, sections 15 to 17, section 19, Chapters II and III, and sections 40 to 45. The commencement of these provisions enabled the Countryside Agency to begin preparation of and consultation on draft maps of open country and registered common land.
The right of access, in section 2(1), has not yet been brought into effect. We are committed to opening up all open country and registered common land by the end of 2005, but the Act allows for the right to be commenced at different times in different areas, so it would be possible to give people new rights of access to some areas of land before then. I am considering the option of regional commencement, and hope to make an announcement on this before the end of the year.