The CLA, which represents landowners, farmers and rural businesses, has called for an injection of common sense into the Rights of Way law in response to a court decision to establish two bridleways in Wiltshire based on a change in the interpretation of early 19th Century legislation.
CLA Director of Policy and Advice Christopher Price said: “It is important that there is a balance that works between enabling access to the countryside, and the use of rural land as a place of work. The instatement of what is for all intents and purposes a new Public Right of Way can have a significant impact on the management of land, for example reducing food production and limiting the ability of landowners to deliver environmental measures that enhance biodiversity and provide habitats for wildlife.
“The need for this balance is on the whole well understood by the public, local authorities, Central Government and within the legal system. We have been calling for some time for a common sense approach that is formalised in an updated, logical legislative system. The Court of Appeal decision is a prime example of why such an injection of common sense is required.”
