Breadcrumbs
Local countryside access forums (NCAF 2/2)
b. identify any other issues it considers relevant to the establishment and operation of Local Countryside Access Forums
2. This paper prompts early discussion on Local Countryside Access Forums. A paper will be put to the Agency Board at a later date.
Background
3. The Government's 'Framework for action on access to the countryside', published on 8 March 1999, proposes the establishment of Local Countryside Access Forums. The framework document says:
"National Park and other local authorities will be asked to establish non-statutory local (countryside) access forums. These will play a key advisory role on different parts of the "access package". They will focus on issues of particular local relevance, including:
- considering local authorities' recreation and access strategies to ensure fair provision is made for all users;
- advising on local rights of way issues; and
- advising on proposals for local closures of, or restrictions to, access land in accordance with national codes."
Role and status
4. Local Countryside Access Forums (local forums) will be non-statutory bodies who will advise on the local implementation of the new national access arrangements. In England, local forums will be giving advice on specific access issues to the Countryside Agency (the Agency) or the relevant national park or other local authority. The framework document says:
"The forums' advice will be expected to be consistent with national codes and guidelines. In cases where the relevant authority decides not to accept such advice, clear justification will be needed".5. Local forums are about developing a constructive and inclusive approach to the improvement of recreational access to the countryside. They are about the need to respect local circumstances and different interests while operating within a nationally consistent framework. The success of local forums will depend on a balanced and informed membership which is able to engage in constructive debate and reach consensus. Later sections in this paper raise the issues of membership and way of working in more detail.
6. The Agency expects the local forums to advise on the three interrelated areas outlined below.
Recreation strategies
7. Local forums will assist local authorities with the development, implementation and monitoring of their local strategies for informal recreation. These strategies will cover access opportunities and needs, and the measures required to deliver improved access for the benefit of everyone. Forums will be expected to consider local issues which cut across both rights of way and access to open countryside, e.g. improving access opportunities for disabled people, the provision of access to and over areas of open countryside, the delivery of public information, and developing links with public transport.
Rights of way
8. The Department of Environment, Transport and Regions consultation paper, 'Improving Rights of Way in England and Wales' published in July 1999 makes a number of proposals which if introduced would give local forums an important role in the improvement of the rights of way system.
9. Local forums will give advice to highway, national park and other local authorities on local rights of way issues, including:
- reviews of the extent to which the local rights of way network meets the needs of the public, and the development of programmes to meet those needs as part of local recreation strategies; and
- improvements to the rights of way network, e.g. providing a means of discussing disputed definitive map and public path orders, considering the general case for path diversions or closures, and advising the local authority on the best way forward.
Access to open countryside
10. Local forums will be able to make recommendations to the Agency on the draft maps of access land. For the planned large test areas in the north and south of England, the relevant local forums will comment on the pilot maps produced at stage 2 of the mapping process (see NCAF 1/5).
11. Local forums will be able to make recommendations to the Agency or national park authorities on the need for closures of, or restrictions to, access land; on the grounds of nature conservation and heritage and land management.
Membership
12. National park and other local authorities will be expected to establish local forums, and so to appoint members. Given the likely level of interest in membership, members should be appointed after advertisement for expressions of interest. The national park authority or local authority will be a member of the local forum, but will not necessarily chair meetings.
13. There is some guidance on membership in the framework document which says:
"Forums are expected to comprise representatives of users, landowners and managers, local authorities, local businesses and trade unions, and conservation interests".14. The membership of local forums will need to be balanced to avoid dominance by any single interest group. Membership should include land management, user and other interests such as conservation, transport and tourism.
15. Members should be appointed for two years. Membership should be reviewed every two years to ensure that the forum remains focused on the access issues of particular importance at the local level.
16. The size of membership will be important to the success of the local forums. If too small it is unlikely that there will be sufficient representation of local interests; and if too large the forum is unlikely to operate effectively. A membership of 15-20 is likely to include the main interests and be manageable.
Operation
17. The Government expects national park and other local authorities to establish local forums according to guidance laid down by the Agency. The Government's framework document says:
"Forums are likely to be established at county or national park level, but different arrangements may well be appropriate in different parts of the country".Boundaries
18. There may be no single national model for the boundaries on which local forums will be based. There is an argument for local forums to operate at county or highway authority level given the role local forums will have in developing recreation strategies and improving the rights of way system.
19. Geographic arrangements could vary across England to reflect the particular circumstances and interests in an area. It will be for the relevant national park and other local authorities to consider what arrangements, consistent with the Agency's guidance, are most appropriate in their area(s). These might include boundaries based on:
- national parks;
- areas of outstanding natural beauty;
- groups of unitary authorities;
- individual or groups of county authorities; and
- or any division or combination of these as appropriate.
20. In many areas there may already be an access or rights of way group which could evolve into a local forum. In cases where existing groups operate at a more local scale they might be represented on, or report into, the county or other geographically based forum.
Way of working
21. Local forums are about involving the main interests and working in partnership to achieve consensus. If we assume that local forums will only meet several times in a year, there is an argument for them giving strategic advice on how to improve local access arrangements rather than assuming responsibility for resolving the detail of individual cases.
22. Local forum members should be appointed on the basis that they will work within the Agency's national guidelines to achieve consensus, network with groups and individuals outside the forum, and to consult with their wider constituency before making recommendations to the relevant authority. The greater the consensus the greater the weight that will be given to the forum's advice. In those cases where consensus cannot be achieved, the forum must make clear the nature of the differing views, and suggest how they might be resolved.
23. Local forums will each need to have a secretariat to manage their business. This secretariat should be based with the authority establishing the forum, and could be an individual employed by that authority. The role of this secretariat would be to:
- ensure that the forum is set up and run according to the national guidelines produced by the Agency;
- ensure that the forum's advice is consistent with national codes and guidelines;
- arrange, manage and record local forum meetings; and
- manage the delivery of information to the public.
24. Local forums will need to meet several times a year. In periods of high caseload, for example, when consulted on draft maps of access land, they will need to meet more often. Meetings should be held in public.
Funding
25. The establishment and operation of local forums has resource implications for the national park and other local authorities who will be expected to manage them. Resources will be needed for the setting up and servicing of local forums, and are likely to be needed for some of the tasks they will be expected to perform outside meetings. The extent and means of funding will need to be explored as the national guidelines for their structure and operation are developed.
The Countryside Agency's role and approach
26. The Agency's role in relation to local access forums is set out in broad terms in the framework document. In summary the Agency will:
- draw up good practice guidelines on the role, membership and operation of the forums;
- ensure effective geographical coverage;
- be given powers through legislation to close land or otherwise restrict access either permanently or temporarily on the grounds of nature conservation or heritage;
- consult relevant local forums on closures of, and restrictions to, access on the grounds of nature conservation or heritage; and on applications to close land or otherwise restrict access for reasons of land management; and
- make decisions on access arrangements after considering advice from local forums and other bodies, and provide appropriate feedback to local forums.
27. The structure and operation of local forums cannot be decided in isolation from other aspects of the new access arrangements which are also at a developmental stage, e.g. procedures for mapping, closures and codes of practice. The guidelines on the most effective role, membership and operation of local forums will be developed in tandem with these procedures over the coming months.
28. To assist us in developing guidelines we are considering obtaining advice on the options for the structure and operation of local forums through a research contract which would be let in autumn 1999. The Forum would be consulted on the tender brief for this research contract. This research will be done in parallel with the discussions we will have with the Forum and other interested bodies as part of our normal business.
29. We are developing access demonstration projects in the north west and south east of England. These projects could be used to pilot local forums, e.g. to comment on pilot maps of access land, before they are established across the whole country.
