Memorandum submitted by the Ramblers'
Association (Appendix 8)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. The Ramblers' Association welcomes the
draft Bill, especially provisions to create a powerful, independent
Integrated Agency. We believe that the Bill's provisions are in
line with the institutional arrangements proposed in the Rural
Strategy and feel that in many ways the provisions will allow
the Government to implement its proposals effectively. However,
concerns remain that access will lose out to nature conservation
and biodiversity. We feel strongly that it must be clear throughout
the Bill that access and recreation are on an equal footing with
the conservation work of the Agency, with conflicts resolved on
a case-by-case basis. We believe that the value of countryside
access must be appreciated at all levels and across all functions
of the Integrated Agency.
GENERAL
2. The Ramblers' Association (RA) is the
UK's largest organisation protecting the rights and promoting
the interests of walkers. It aims to promote walking, to promote
the integrity of the footpath network, to secure greater access
on foot to the countryside and to protect the outdoor environment.
The RA has 143,000 members organised into 450 local groups throughout
England, Scotland and Wales. In addition over 900 "private"
walking clubs are affiliated to the RA.
3. In responding to the draft Natural Environment
and Rural Communities Bill, the RA will concentrate on issues
directly related to its work, especially the creation of a new
Integrated Agency. This response is in addition to that submitted
by Wildlife and Countryside Link, which we fully support.
RESPONSE TO
QUESTIONS POSED
Whether the provisions of the draft Bill
differ significantly from the institutional arrangements proposed
in the Government's Rural Strategy
4. It appears to the RA that the draft Bill's
provisions are largely in line with the institutional arrangements
proposed in the Rural Strategy 2004.
5. The RA welcomes the establishment of
the Integrated Agency as a "very powerful and independent
organisation". We agree with Government that great value
can be derived from the pooling of the existing talents, skills
and experience across English Nature, the Countryside Agency and
Rural Development Service.
Whether the provisions of the draft Bill,
if enacted, would in your opinion allow the Government to implement
its proposals in an effective way
6. The RA's view is that public access to
the countryside stands at the centre of a rural revival and has
cross-cutting benefits for many other areas of life. Access is
about tourism, the rural economy, good health, recreational opportunities,
greater understanding between town and country, and the fostering
of a love and understanding of the natural world. Access is fundamental
to the social and economic health of rural areas, as was clearly
illustrated during the foot and mouth crisis.
7. For these reasons, in our response to
the Committee's inquiry into the Government's Rural Strategy we
called for the new Integrated Agency to be a policy and delivery
champion for access. While recognising that much to do with practical
access delivery remains with local and national park authorities,
the Integrated Agency must be in a position to monitor, incentivise,
experiment and pressurise the delivery of access and to develop
policies to further it.
8. While the purpose of the new agency (clause
2) includes "securing the provision and improvement of facilities
for the study, understanding and enjoyment of nature" it
is not clear from the draft Bill or supporting documents that
the Integrated Agency will have the necessary powers to deliver
this purpose. Particularly in the area of "pressurising the
delivery of access" we believe that the Agency needs significantly
greater powers to impose sanctions on those authorities that fail
in this area, as well as providing incentives for those wishing
to improve.
9. We welcome clauses 3 and 4, and believe
the Agency's powers in clause 4 should be extended to include
survey and monitoring work.
10. Notwithstanding the points made above,
it appears to the RA that the Integrated Agency's "general
implementation powers", outlined in clauses 5-8, will provide
the Agency with a range of powers to deliver its purpose effectively.
We welcome the provisions which will allow the Agency to make
grants and enter into working arrangements with other organisations,
including those in the voluntary and charity sectors.
11. The "other functions" outlined
in clauses 9-13, especially the power to bring criminal proceedings,
are welcomed. In the area of public access the Integrated Agency
should make its intentions clear by readying itself to bring criminal
proceedings where necessary to tackle long-standing problems,
clarify points of law, or illustrate best practice.
12. Equally, we believe that powers outlined
in clauses 41-45 will enable more effective delivery and the pooling
of relevant knowledge and resources. We welcome these powers on
the understanding that the necessary funding will be provided
to the agent body to carry out its functions and that there will
be clear reporting structures in place to ensure that public accountability
remains.
13. It is essential that the importance
of access to the countryside and open spaces is recognised at
all levels and by all quarters in the Integrated Agency. All staff
within the Agency and partner organisations must have a true appreciation
of the key role played by recreation and access in the Agency's
work. This must be the case if the Rural Strategy's aim of "moving
away from a "silo" based approach to a more flexible
integrated, sustainable approach to the management of the natural
environment" is to be met.
14. The Rural Strategy stated that the Integrated
Agency would address public access to, and the sustainable management
of, our natural heritage as mutually reinforcing aims. Our concern
remains that in the Integrated Agency access and recreation interests
will be crowded out by the sheer weight of nature conservation
and biodiversity work undertaken. We would argue strongly against
any policy of conservation automatically taking precedence over
access, akin to the "Sandford principle". The RA believes
that access and recreation should have equal weighting to conservation
in the new agency, with conflicts resolved on a case-by-case basis.
Appreciation and respect for the natural environment can only
be achieved by allowing access to it. When people come to enjoy
and appreciate nature it becomes their desire to conserve and
enhance it, thereby producing a virtuous circle.
15. The RA would be very happy to expand
on the issues raised in this document. The contact point within
the RA on this matter is Adrian Morris, Head of Footpath Campaigns
(adrianm@london.ramblers.org.uk or 020 7339 8524). Postal address
is The Ramblers' Association, 2nd Floor, Camelford House, 87-90
Albert Embankment, London, SE1 7TW.
The Ramblers' Association
February 2005
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