Countryside and Rights of Way Act

From GPG

The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CROW) has four main parts affecting public access:

Access to Open Country
Public Rights of Way
Nature Conservation
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The main purpose of the Act was to create a statutory right of access on foot to certain types of open land. Additionally, it made changes to the law governing public rights of way and strengthened nature conservation legislation to facilitate better management of AONBs.

1 Access to Open Country (separate page)
2 Public Rights of Way
3 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
4 Miscellaneous Provisions
5 Financial Implications

Access to Open Country (separate page)

Public Rights of Way

It is important to note that some of the changes proposed in the Act have not yet come into force as they require the Minister to make regulations to bring them into being. Below is an overview of the main changes contained in the Act.

Highway authorities are required to produce a Rights of Way Improvement Plan for their area, taking into account the needs of the public in terms of recreation, exercise, and enjoyment of the countryside, and considering the particular needs of less able people. This needs to include a statement on how the improvements are to be secured. The Rights of Way Improvement Plan document had to be completed by autumn 2007 and must now be reviewed at intervals of ten years.
The Act proposes to close the Definitive Map and Statement to the addition of rights of way that were legally in existence before 1949 in 2026. This is often referred to as the '2026 cut-off date' and would have the effect of removing highway rights over any rights of way that existed prior to 1949, if those rights have not been recorded. In order to research the historical documentary evidence for unrecorded rights of way (sometimes called "lost ways") the Countryside Agency (as it then was) put in place a scheme in England called the Discovering Lost Ways project (there was no similar scheme for Wales). In early 2008 Natural England announced that a review of the Discovering Lost Ways project had been concluded and that Natural England recommended to Defra that the project should be abandoned and proposed instead that a 'stakeholder group' be formed to recommend changes to the existing legislation. Defra has accepted this recommendation and has indicated that the 2026 cut-off date will not now be implemented until the stakeholder group has reported. Primary legislation would be required to remove the relevant section of CROW from the statute books and until that has been passed there remains the possibility that the 2026 cut-off date will be implemented.
The Act provided that any Roads Used as Public Paths (RUPPs), not already reclassified, automatically become Restricted Byways, which will be available for use on foot, horseback, cycle and non-motorised vehicles. Further restrictions on the recording of byways on the Definitive Map were introduced by the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act (NERC).
The Act made provision for diversions and extinguishments of rights of way in a number of additional circumstances: to protect SSSIs, for the protection of schools and for the purposes of crime prevention in certain areas. Further powers for 'gating orders' (see alleygating) were introduced by the Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act 2005.
The Act provides for certain types of landowner to have the right to apply for a public path order, this requires regulations to be passed to implement the relevant section of the Act and as of March 2008 is not yet in force.
The Act provides for landowners to temporarily divert footpaths and bridleways for short periods of time to allow potentially dangerous works to be carried out that would pose a risk to users of the rights of way. As of March 2008, this power has not yet been implemented.
The Act extended the grounds on which Traffic Regulation Orders can be made to include for the purposes of nature conservation.
Authorities must take into account the needs of less able people (see Disability Discrimination Acts) when authorising stiles and gates to allow easier access. This provision of the Act was implemented in 2007.
The Act provides measures to make prosecution for various obstructions more effective, together with provisions for allowing the public to serve notice on the local authority for failing to take appropriate action. These measures have been implemented.

Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty

The Act clarifies the procedure and purpose of designating Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs), which were originally set out in the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, and amended in the Environment Act 1995, resulting in a degree of fragmentation. The consolidation of the provisions improves the effectiveness and impact of AONB designation.

The Act requires local authorities in whose areas AONBs are located to prepare and publish a management plan for the area. If one already exists, the local authority may decide whether to review and adopt an existing one, or to produce a new one. This procedure had to result in a plan being adopted as a statutory plan by 31st March 2004. Extensive consultation as set out in the Act must be undertaken, and once published, the Plan must be reviewed every five years.

Local authorities, Ministers of the Crown, public bodies (such as government agencies), statutory bodies and any person holding public office will also have a duty to have regard to the purpose of conserving and enhancing the natural beauty of the AONB in exercising or performing their functions.

Provision is made in the CROW Act for larger AONBs covering several local authority areas to apply to the Secretary of State for permission to set up a Conservation Board to manage the AONB, taking over certain agreed functions from the local authorities. The funding for such bodies would come from a combination of places, including the Secretary of State, the Natural England and the constituent local authorities.

Miscellaneous Provisions

The Act sets out the requirement for highway authorities and National Park Authorities to set up and run Local Access Forums. These bodies are statutory consultees for a variety of purposes set out elsewhere in the Act.

It amends the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to enable management agreements to be entered into by a wider number of authorities (e.g. the new Conservation Boards) and in respect of any land, whether or not it is in the countryside.

The remaining provisions clarify the situation of the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads and the Isles of Scilly, and also the position of Village Greens in terms of the registration of Common Land.

Financial Implications

The government undertook a financial study to determine the likely cost of implementing the provisions of the Act. With respect to the local authority responsibilities, the cost of implementing the rights of way duties has resulted in an increase in the Standard Spending Assessment of the Council as a whole.

The open access provisions officially had no financial implications for local authorities, other than the setting up and operating of Local Access Fora.