Ramblers May Lose Rights Under New Rules
Homeowners will be given the right to stop ramblers crossing over their land and instead divert them onto a different route.
Owen Paterson, the environment secretary, wants to help people whose properties have been accessed by the public because they are considered historic “rights of way”.
That currently happens after a path has had “unhindered public use” for 20 years.
But now families will be able to ask for a public path to be diverted so that it goes around a garden or farmyard rather than straight through it.
It comes after one group of 12 residents fought their local council for over two decades.
A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: “We’re simplifying rights of way regulations and working with interested groups, including the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) and the Ramblers Association to find a solution that makes it easier for landowners to divert rights of way without affecting walkers’ enjoyment of the countryside.”
The 12 residents, campaigning in Dorset, say the changes do not go far enough.
The row emerged as a result of the Deregulation Bill that would have made it easier for ramblers to use public rights of way.
Walkers would no longer have had to apply to the environment secretary, but just to councils.
However, the minister’s intervention gives homeowners the right to request a diversion – with a presumption in law in their favour.
The National Farmers’ Union is backing the move.
“Farmyards are often full of large machines and farmers have a constant fear that accidents could happen,” said Andrew Clark, head of policy at the NFU.
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