Information on rights of way improvement plans and open access in the North West.

Improving access to the countryside

Natural England is working to open up more opportunities to visit the countryside and ensure that everyone is able to benefit.

Rights of Way Improvement Plans 

We are working with local authorities to help them prepare their Rights of Way Improvement Plans by November 2007. 

The Countryside and Rights of Way (CROW) Act 2000 included a requirement for each highway authority to prepare and publish a plan that sets out how they will improve their local public rights of way networks.  The plans must:

  • assess the extent to which local rights of way meet the current and likely future needs of the public;
  • assess the accessibility of local rights of way to blind or partially sighted persons and others with a mobility problem; and
  • include a statement of action for improving the rights of way network.       

Some highway authorities have already published their plans but others including many unitary authorities in metropolitan areas are still at an early stage in the process.  Natural England is providing advice and support at both a national and regional level (publication of case studies, examples of good practice, funding for small scale improvements, and advice from regional staff etc).

Open Access 

The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 gave people new rights to walk on areas of open country and registered common land. The introduction of the rights, for which people have been campaigning for over 100 years, allows people to walk freely across mapped areas of mountain, moor, heath and down without the need to stick to paths.

The Act was launched across England in a national roll-out program over 2004-2005.  Mapping is now complete, and all the areas in England are now open for access.  There is a significant amount of new access land within the North West. The main areas where the new rights exist can be found in the North Pennines (Cumbria) and the Forest of Bowland (Lancashire).

  • If you wish to find out more about how to enjoy access land and view the access land walking maps, see the Countryside Access website: www.countrysideaccess.gov.uk
  • If you are a land owner or manager and want find out how the Act affects you or get advice on how to manage public access, go to the Open Access website:www.openaccess.gov.uk