CRoW Act
New Areas of Open Access Land in the Broads
On 31 October 2005, the new right of access to open country and registered common land came into force in eastern England. This was introduced under part 1 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (the CRoW Act). About 150 hectares of the Broads is affected - 11 areas of registered common and three areas of 'open country', making a total of 14 areas of access land.
Open country has been defined under the CRoW Act as mountain, moorland, downland and heathland. Most of these are in short supply in the Broads, but Herringfleet Hills near Somerleyton, part of Outney Common in Bungay and East Ruston Allotments have all been marked as open country on the conclusive maps. This means that, subject to certain restrictions, the public is allowed recreational access to these areas throughout the year.
As the 14 areas lie within the Broads executive area, the Broads Authority, in common with other national park authorities, will have the twin roles of 'Access Authority' and 'Relevant Authority' for them. Amongst other duties, this enables the Broads Authority to appoint wardens for areas of land and to place notices indicating boundaries, restrictions and exclusions. The Broads Authority is also the body which will determine applications from landowners and others with legal interests to exclude or restrict access.
The Broads Local Access Forum will have a key role in advising the Broads Authority on these functions, and will be a statutory consultee in applications for restriction and exclusion.
The right of access to the East of England marks the final stage in the introduction of access land, allowing walkers to enjoy almost three quarters of a million hectares of land which was previously off limits.
For further information on the new access rights and maps of access land, please visit the website www.countrysideaccess.gov.uk.
