Land Reform Update

The new access legislation has been passed by parliament and received royal assent, and is know as the Land Reform (Scotland) Act.  The Act aims to “create a greater opportunity for people to visit and enjoy our countryside without interfering unduly with legitimate land management operations”.

The key principles of the Act are as follows:-

• A right of responsible access to all land and water backed up with a code which defines responsible behaviour.
• Obligations on land managers not to impede or restrict the right of access.
• Obligations on local authorities to facilitate and plan for access, and to identify core path networks within their area, together with powers to manage access and an obligation to create at least one access forum.

To see the Land Reform (Scotland) Act in full follow this link.

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/S1/parl_bus/bills/b44bs1.pdf  

Scottish Outdoor Access Code  

On the 1^st of July the Scottish Outdoor Access Code was approved by the Scottish Parliament.  This is one of the final steps in the long process of putting the new access arrangements in place.   

Underlining the "historic nature" of the Legislation the Deputy Environment Minister, Allan Wilson stated that the Land Reform Act was " probably the most significant legislation that the Parliament approved in its first five years".

This clears the way for the final stages of putting the new access arrangements in place.  No firm date for the enactment has yet been announced but it is expected to be February 2005.  The final version of the code is much improved from earlier drafts and it now provides clear and positive guidance to all parties.  Thanks are due to all those who wrote and made submissions during the consultation period.   Clearly your efforts have made a big difference!

You can view the final version of the approved code on the SNH web site here-

http://www.snh.gov.uk/pdfs/access/ApprovedCode050604.pdf

The SCA has been working with SNH and others to create a focused 'paddlers' version of the code to inform paddlers on the important aspects of the code and help promote responsible access.  This will be available in the autumn.

You can find full details of the new access arrangements along with contact details for access officers at http://www.outdooraccess-scotland.com/

What about access now?

Though the new statutory right of access has not yet come into force, paddlers should continue to take access in the way they have in the past. There should be no problem accessing your favorite river, loch, canal or whatever. You should certainly resist any suggestion by land managers that you have no right of access because the new right is not yet in place!