Right to swim and wild camp in England should be enshrined in law, Labour MPs say | Land rights

Swimming and wild camping should be a right for all people to enjoy in the English countryside, said labor deputies.

They call access to nature and legal rights to take advantage of the campaign in a report by the Multipartite parliamentary group for outdoor leisure and access to nature.

The group is led by Labor deputies Andy Macnae, Phil Brickell and Polly Billington and was set up to explore how to improve people’s ties with the nature and pleasure of the rivers, woods and fields of England.

Their report, which adopted opinions of more than 750 organizations and individuals, concludes that there is not enough access to nature in England.

There is a right registered in the law to wander on only 8% of England, which includes mountains, Landes, coastal path and common lands. In recent years, there has been a wave of public campaigns involving mass intrusions, which have sometimes attracted thousands of people, calling for a general right to cross the English countryside, as in Scotland.

This access should be extended to include interior waters such as lakes and rivers, as well as woods, and in places where walking is authorized, a wider range of activities should be authorized, the report indicates. This includes wilderness camping, paddle, swimming, cycling and horse riding. For the moment, wild camping is a legal right only on Dartmoor. This right was subject to a legal battle written when a landowner tried without success to overthrow him in order to prevent people from camping on his property.

McNae, the deputy of Rossendale and Darwen, said: “The call for the sector is clear: we need new ambitious legislation to extend everyone’s access to green and blue spaces. We have a unique opportunity to rely on the legacy left for us by the governments of the previous work, which have always sought to make sure that we can all enjoy the natural beauty of Great Britain.

“This means not only to open new landscapes and waterways for responsible leisure activities, but by decomposing the physical and cultural barriers that prevent people, especially those who are less able to appreciate them.”

In opposition, work has engaged in a Scottish style right to wander. However, after lobbying from groups of landowners, the party has done its turn and announced instead that it would create hundreds of kilometers from New River trails. The banks are often on private land, and people looking for canoeing or swimming are sometimes faced with threats or abuses from landowners. River walks are often fragmented for the same reason, and only 3.4% of English rivers have an undisputed public right of navigation.

Brickell said: “The government now has a historic opportunity to improve access to everyone to the great outdoors thanks to main legislation. We know that spending more time outside has incredible and physically health benefits.

It is now time to provide lasting changes, so that everyone can do exercise well to take advantage of our natural environment. »»

The report also calls for the rights to access to swimming and non -motorized crafts on domestic waters through new laws or new modifications to existing acts, such as the Campaign and Rights Acts, a bill to access nature or the next water reform bill, and a requirement for all children and young people to at least an outdoor residential experience.

Stephen Russell, director of policies and public affairs at The Charity Ramblers, said: “The government has promised to improve access to nature, but ministers have not explained how they will make changes on the ground. At a time when new access to three in England lives more than 15 minutes from the green or blue space, the report clearly makes the end of the legislation.

The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has been contacted for comments.