Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000

Baroness Byford
asked Her Majesty's Government:

What has been the cost of delivering access since the implementation of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. [HL3356]

The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker)
The National Audit Office's 2006 report, The right of access to open countryside, indicated the total cost of implementing the right of access under Part 1 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 to be £69 million from 1999 to March 2006.

In 2006-07, National Park authorities were allocated £2.875 million to implement open access, and the Planning Inspectorate funded £4,000 to deal with restriction appeals. An additional £4.64 million has been spent by Natural England towards open access, including £372,000 which was allocated to the Access Management Grant Scheme.