The NFU and CLA have expressed relief that Natural England has accepted the recommendations of the Stakeholder Working Group on Unrecorded Rights of Way.
But both organisations have added that it is vital the government keeps its side of the bargain, with a 2026 cut-off date for recording historic rights of way.
They said that currently farmers and land mangers can find themselves facing ‘out-of-the-blue’ access claims based purely on evidence dating back centuries. The working group’s report recommends that unless historic rights are officially recorded by 2026, they should disappear for ever. After 2026, it will no longer be possible for anyone to claim, on purely historic grounds, that a right of way crosses someone's land.
NFU President Peter Kendall said: “For NFU members this package of proposals for reform would mean an end to claims coming ‘out of the blue’ which are based on historical evidence and have no place in a modern farming business.
“Any opportunity to avoid conflicts between Rights of Way and current land use will mean farmers and growers are able to focus on the primary task at hand; namely producing food and managing their land. It could also see an end to the current situation where applications for Rights of Way, which are supported by poor evidence, can end up blighting a property for many years.”
CLA President William Worsley said the current situation was ‘ridiculous’. He added: “We are very pleased the end is in sight, even though it may still be some way off.,”
Download the report by Stakeholder Working Group on Unrecorded Rights of Way here.
Read more NFU news on access issues here.
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