Land access plans unveiled

Ramblers want free access to all land

The Scottish Executive has unveiled new proposals for governing access and ownership of land in the countryside.

The draft Land Reform Bill, which is now open to public consultation, proposes to give ramblers greater access and freedom of movement in rural areas.

It also aims to give smaller communities and crofters a legal right to but the land they work and depend on for a living.

But ramblers and landowners have criticised the bill for failing to address key issues and both groups are set to lobby for major amendments during the consultation period.

Dave Morris, Ramblers' Scotland: "disappointed"

The new bill was unveiled on Thursday by Deputy First Minister Jim Wallace who described it as a " significant milestone in the executive's land reform programme".

It proposes to give ramblers a new "responsible" right of access to land and water in rural Scotland.

Mr Wallace said that rural communities would be given "sustainable" futures through a new legal right to buy which would allow them collectively to own, work and develop land.

This same right would also be extended to crofting communities, allowing them to buy land at any time and not just when it comes up for sale.

The bill has been wlcomed by Scottish National Heritage but ramblers and landowners representatives say they are disappointed and are set to campaign for changes during the consultation period.

'Quite disappointing'

Dave Morris of Ramblers' Scotland said: "We could finish up with the situation where extensive tracts of farmland were seen as being off-limits.

"It would enable those maverick landowners who don't want anyone on their land to continue doing that.

"I think it is quite disappointing that after four years of debate, the executive has not apparently understood the issue properly."

John Kinnaird, SNFU: "not addressed the problems"

However, landowners across Scotland believe that effective land management could be adversely hit by people having the right to cross fields of growing crops and livestock.

John Kinnaird of the Scottish National Farmers Union said the executive's proposals fell short of what many landowners had hoped for.

"They haven't addressed a lot of our concerns," he said.

"For example, they haven't considered that grassland is a crop, when most definitely it is.

"They certainly have not addressed the problem with dogs and the ability of dogs to go where people are walking and that quite definitely raises animal welfare problems and the potential for disease problems."