Friday, 15 October 2021

Greens Join Calls on the Treasury to Improve the Right to Roam.

 

North Staffs Green Party have joined campaign group Right to Roam [1]in calling for it to be made easier for people to access the countryside.

The group campaigns for an extension to the Right to Roam established under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act (2000).

In a statement on their website Right to Roam say ‘Ours is a wild and a beautiful island. But the vast majority of it is unknown to us because, by law of trespass, we are banned from setting foot on it. We are excluded from hundreds of thousands of acres of open space - of woodland, meadows, rivers and their banks - simply because ancient laws of ownership fail to recognise the importance of nature to the public’.

Currently the right to roam makes accessible only 8% of the UK countryside, with landowners and some government departments, including DEFRA, being opposed to any extension.

HM Treasury have set up a review led by Lord Agnew, minister of state at the Cabinet Office and the Treasury, into access to nature.

A spokesperson said, “being able to access the countryside is hugely beneficial for our physical and mental health, sadly outdated laws make doing so difficult for too many people”.

Adding “We support Right to Roam in their campaign to make it easier to get out and enjoy nature responsibly”.

The importance of connecting with nature to physical health and mental wellbeing was highlighted a coalition of charities led by the Ramblers Association, who wrote to the Prime Minister in September.

They warned that vital opportunities are being missed by not including access to nature and the countryside in key legislation currently going through parliament including the Environment Bill. At present, they said, it is ‘at the bottom of the pile when it comes to policy decisions and spending’ [3].

The research, published by the Ramblers Association in their report The grass isn’t greener for everyone: why access to green space matters, uncovered sharp disparities in access to green spaces.

Almost everyone researchers spoke to, 78%, said green spaces were important to them, for example as a place to walk, 65% said this had always been the case and 19% said that green spaces in their local area had become even more important to them since the pandemic.

Despite this only 57% said they lived within five minutes-walk of a local green space such as a park or canal path, this fell to 46% for people living in low-income households [4].

Stephen Russell, policy and advocacy officer for the Ramblers said “The pandemic really brought home the importance of being able to enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits of connecting with nature in the great outdoors. It’s something that should be available to everyone, but it’s not. And it is people in some of our most disadvantaged communities who are the least likely to have access to high quality green spaces.”

The Ramblers Association has launched a petition calling for improving access to green spaces to be made a central feature of government policy [5].

A spokesperson for North Staffs Green Party said, “making it easier for people to access, engage with, and by doing so learn to value nature is part of our core values as a party and we fully support both these campaigns”.

Right to Roam are asking supporters to email Lord Agnew to express support for extending the right to roam at: pslordagnew@cabinetoffice.gov.uk more information on the Right to Roam campaign and a template letter are available from [2]

 

 

[1] https://www.righttoroam.org.uk/

[2] https://www.righttoroam.org.uk/write-to-treasury

[3] https://www.ramblers.org.uk/news/latest-news/2021/september/prime-minister-warned-of-urgent-need-to-improve-access-to-nature.aspx

[4] https://www.ramblers.org.uk/get-involved/campaign-with-us/help-us-ensure-everyone-can-enjoy-walking-in-nature/why-access-to-green-space-matters.aspx

[5] https://www.ramblers.org.uk/get-involved/campaign-with-us/help-us-ensure-everyone-can-enjoy-walking-in-nature.aspx

 

 

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