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Part 1 Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003
Draft Guidance for Local Authorities and National Park Authorities
PART 1 LAND REFORM (SCOTLAND) ACT 2003 - CONSULTATION ON DRAFT GUIDANCE FOR LOCAL AUTHORITIES/NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITIES
The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 establishes rights of responsible access rights to land and inland water for recreation and passage.
Under section 27 of the Act Ministers may give guidance to local authorities on the performance of any of their functions under Part 1 of the Act. We are now inviting comments on a draft of the proposed guidance.
During the passage of the draft Bill through Parliament in 2002, much emphasis was given to the importance of the guidance that would be given to local authorities. In producing this draft guidance the Executive has worked closely with representatives of local authorities and Scottish Natural Heritage. The emphasis on the Act is on the local management of access, and the success of the new access legislation will depend on how local authorities carry out their duties and functions under the Act since they will have the key role in facilitating and managing access rights on a day to day basis.
This draft guidance provides local authorities with information to assist them in fulfilling their duties under the Act, and also in carrying out their other functions under the Act. It is hoped that this consultation will widen the debate on the management and implementation of access rights at a local level.
Responding to this consultation paper
We are inviting written responses to this consultation paper by Friday 7 may.
Please send your response to either e-mail to:PublicAccess@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Or, by post to
Ian Fairweather, Scottish Executive, Countryside & Natural Heritage Division, Area 1-J, Victoria Quay, Edinburgh, EH6 6QQ
If you have any queries contact Ian Fairweather on 0131 244 6545.
For future engagement:
If you wish to access this consultation online, go to http://www.scotland.gov.uk/view/views.asp. You can telephone Freephone 0800 77 1234 to find out where your nearest public internet access point is.
Access to consultation responses
We will make all responses available to the public in the Scottish Executive Library unless confidentiality is requested. All responses not marked confidential will be checked for any potentially defamatory material before being logged in the library or placed on the website.
Yours sincerely
IAN FAIRWEATHER
Annex A RESPONDEE INFORMATION FORM
Introduction
The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 received Royal Assent on 25th February 2003. Part 1 of this Act establishes statutory rights of responsible access to land including inland water. These rights will be brought into effect once the Scottish Outdoor Access Code has been approved by the Scottish Parliament. It is expected that the rights will come into effect in autumn 2004.
The emphasis in Part 1 of the Act is very much on the local management of access. With the duties and powers that local authorities already have under existing legislation in respect of access, it is appropriate that they should continue to be the main bodies responsible for the implementation of the new access arrangements under the 2003 Act outwith National Parks. Within the Parks, responsibility will rest with the park authorities.
Section 27 of the Act permits Ministers to give local authorities guidance on the performance of any of their functions under Part 1 of the Act. The guidance has been prepared in consultation with COSLA and with Scottish Natural Heritage.
The legislation is not limited to the establishment of access rights, but also addresses the need for better provision of infrastructure to facilitate the exercise of access rights. As a result there is growing public expectation that the provision for public access will be improved significantly over the coming years. An important element in the facilitation of access will be the core paths plans to be drawn up by local authorities under section 17 of the Act. Core paths will enable and encourage all members of the public, regardless of ability, to exercise their rights of access.
Ministers recognise that implementation of the new arrangements for access carry cost implications for local authorities. In their settlement for 3 years up to 2003 - 04 local authorities were given additional funding of 13.7 million for access related activity. In the current settlement they have been allocated a total of 22m to prepare for implementation of the access legislation. Authorities will have until 2007 to draw up core paths plans and Ministers wish to work with them in identifying the costs associated with core paths provision.
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