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Access under other enactments or by dedication |
| Rights of access under other enactments. |
15. - (1) For the purposes of section 1(1), land is to be treated as being accessible to the public apart from this Act at any time if, but only if, at that time-
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(a) section 193 of the Law of Property Act 1925 (rights of the public over commons and waste lands) applies to it, |
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(b) by virtue of a local or private Act or a scheme made under Part I of the Commons Act 1899 (as read with subsection (2)), members of the public have a right of access to it at all times for the purposes of open-air recreation (however described), or |
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(c) an access agreement or access order under Part V of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 is in force with respect to it. |
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(2) Where a local or private Act or a scheme made under Part I of the Commons Act 1899 confers on the inhabitants of a particular district or neighbourhood (however described) a right of access to any land for the purposes of open-air recreation (however described), the right of access exercisable by those inhabitants in relation to that land is by virtue of this subsection exercisable by members of the public generally.
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| Dedication of land as access land. |
16. - (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, a person owning the fee simple absolute in possession in any land ("the fee simple owner") may, by taking such steps as may be prescribed, dedicate the land as access land for the purposes of this Part, whether or not it would be access land apart from this section.
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(2) Where any person other than the fee simple owner holds-
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(a) a leasehold interest in any of the land to be dedicated, or |
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(b) any other prescribed interest in any of that land, |
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any dedication under this section by the fee simple owner must be made jointly with him, in such manner as may be prescribed, or with his consent, given in such manner as may be prescribed.
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(3) Regulations may-
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(a) prescribe the form of any instrument to be used for the purposes of this section, |
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(b) enable a dedication under this section to include provision excluding the application of any of the general restrictions in Schedule 2 in relation to any of the land to which the dedication relates, |
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(c) enable a dedication previously made under this section to be amended by the persons by whom a dedication could be made, so as to exclude the application of any of those restrictions in relation to any of the land to which the dedication relates, and |
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(d) require any dedication under this section, or any amendment of such a dedication by virtue of paragraph (c), to be notified to the appropriate countryside body and to the access authority. |
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(4) A dedication under this section is irrevocable and binds successive owners and occupiers of, and other persons interested in, the land to which it relates, but nothing in this section prevents any land from becoming excepted land.
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(5) A dedication under this section is a local land charge.
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Miscellaneous provisions relating to right of access |
| Byelaws. |
17. - (1) An access authority may, as respects access land in their area, make byelaws-
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(a) for the preservation of order, |
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(b) for the prevention of damage to the land or anything on or in it, and |
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(c) for securing that persons exercising the right conferred by section 2(1) so behave themselves as to avoid undue interference with the enjoyment of the land by other persons. |
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(2) Byelaws under this section may relate to all the access land in the area of the access authority or only to particular land.
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(3) Before making byelaws under this section, the access authority shall consult the appropriate countryside body.
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(4) Byelaws under this section shall not interfere-
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(a) with the exercise of any public right of way, |
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(b) with any authority having under any enactment functions relating to the land to which the byelaws apply, or |
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(c) with the running of a telecommunications code system or the exercise of any right conferred by or in accordance with the telecommunications code on the running of any such system. |
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(5) Sections 236 to 238 of the Local Government Act 1972 (which relate to the procedure for making byelaws, authorise byelaws to impose fines not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale, and provide for the proof of byelaws in legal proceedings) apply to all byelaws under this section whether or not the authority making them is a local authority within the meaning of that Act.
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(6) The confirming authority in relation to byelaws made under this section is-
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(a) as respects England, the Secretary of State, and |
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(b) as respects Wales, the National Assembly for Wales. |
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(7) Any access authority having power under this section to make byelaws also has power to enforce byelaws made by them; and any county council or district council may enforce byelaws made under this section by another authority as respects land in the area of the council.
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| Wardens. |
18. - (1) An access authority or a district council may appoint such number of persons as may appear to the authority to be necessary or expedient to act as wardens as respects access land in their area.
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(2) Wardens may be appointed under subsection (1) for the following purposes-
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(a) to secure compliance with byelaws under section 17 and with the general restrictions in Schedule 2, |
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(b) in relation to the right conferred by section 2(1), to advise and assist the public and persons interested in access land, |
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(c) to perform such other duties (if any) in relation to access land as the authority may determine. |
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(3) For the purpose of exercising any function conferred on him by or under this section a warden appointed under subsection (1) may enter upon any access land.
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(4) A warden appointed under subsection (1) shall, if so required, produce evidence of his authority before entering any access land in the exercise of the power conferred by subsection (3); and shall also produce evidence of his authority while he remains on the access land, if so required by any person.
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(5) Except as provided by subsection (3), this section does not authorise a warden appointed under subsection (1), on land in which any person other than the authority which appointed him has an interest, to do anything which apart from this section would be actionable at that person's suit by virtue of that interest.
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| Notices indicating boundaries, etc. |
19. - (1) An access authority may erect and maintain-
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(a) notices indicating the boundaries of access land and excepted land, and |
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(b) notices informing the public of- |
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(i) the effect of the general restrictions in Schedule 2, and
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(ii) the exclusion or restriction under Chapter II of access by virtue of section 2(1) to any land.
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(2) In subsection (1)(b)(ii), the reference to the exclusion or restriction of access by virtue of section 2(1) is to be interpreted in accordance with section 20(2) and (3).
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(3) An access authority may also, as respects any access land in their area, defray or contribute towards, or undertake to defray or contribute towards, expenditure incurred or to be incurred in relation to the land by any person in displaying such notices as are mentioned in subsection (1)(a) and (b).
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