LARA has withdrawn its 2017 paper called: “Motor racing on public roads (Closed roads) guidance” and replaced it with a much shorter document which gives links to the key legislation and sets out where to find further information and guidance.
The new paper, called: “Motorsport on Closed Roads” can be found through this link.
As predicted in LARA’s News Post of 23 July last, the Government has announced that it intends to reverse the decision of the previous administration to implement the rights of way cut-off date legislation.
It was a Labour Government that introduced the cut-off date legislation, in the Countryside & Rights of Way Act 2000. It was accompanied by an undertaking to first complete the definitive map of public rights of way, but this has never been realised. The BBC has reported that the Government’s latest announcement did not provide a clear explanation of how the definitive map would be completed.
It was the previous Conservative Government that activated the provisions, by means of a commencement order late last year, which set the cut-off date clock ticking. But until the legislation actually took effect, which would have been on 1st January 2031, it was always still possible for the legislation to be repealed. The current Government has just announced that it is planning to repeal the cut-off date legislation as soon as Parliamentary time allows.
For further background and more information on the implications for motoring interests, here is LARA’s Briefing Note from May 2023. This note will be updated once the detail of how the Government intends to proceed is made clear. However, it is envisaged that the repeal of the cut-off date legislation will not significantly change the position with regard to the recording on rights for motor vehicles.
Please note that the above applies only in England, as the Welsh Government has already committed to repealing the cut-off date legislation in Wales.
Earlier this year, Cumbria County Council advised that, as a result of the county’s administration being split into two unitary authorities, its long time hosting of the Hierarchy of Trails Routes (HoTR) website pages could no longer be maintained.
LARA resolved to find a new home for the website, to ensure the future of this exemplar of partnership working between recreational motoring interests, highway authorities, and appropriate National Park authorities.
This will secure the successful ongoing management of the green roads network in the locality, as championed by LARA and expounded in its published guidance.
The HoTR site gives information about the sustainability and suitability for use of trail routes within the scheme, for the benefit of all users of public rights of way by whatever means. And there is scope to extend the site to include other geographical areas in the future.
The new HoTR website can be accessed at http://www.hotr.uk/
For further information, or to submit comments or suggestions, you can email admin@laragb.org.
… on the use of green roads in the Yorkshire Dales National Park by motor vehicles and find everything in order.
The cut-off date has been on the statute books since 2000, but was activated late last year by a commencement order, under the instructions of the then Secretary of State, Thérèse Coffey. However, we believe that the legislation does not actually take effect (i.e. no rights of way will actually be extinguished by the relevant provisions) until the cut-off date, which is now set for 1st January 2031. Therefore, right up until that date the legislation could still be repealed.
Now that we have a Government of a different political complexion, it is conceivable that such a repeal could happen, although it is unlikely that any such development would happen until the new government has got its feet well and truly under the desk. It was a Labour government that introduced the cut-off date legislation, but the accompanying undertaking to first complete the definitive map of public rights of way has never been fulfilled.
Here is LARA’s Briefing Note from May 2023, with further background and more information on the implications for motoring interests.
Note: The above applies only in England, as the Welsh Government has made it clear that the cut-off date will not be implemented in Wales.
LARA has drawn up a Business Plan which reviews and appraises its purpose and aims and sets strategic objectives for the next five years. The Business Plan was formally approved and adopted at LARA’s recent AGM. A summary version of the Business Plan can be viewed through this link.
The Business Plan will be reported on, reviewed and updated annually by LARA at each future AGM.
In March 2023, Defra announced that it had reversed its earlier decision to repeal the rights of way ‘cut-off date’ legislation and that the cut-off date would be implemented, but deferred five years, from 2026 to 2031. Shortly afterwards, LARA prepared a Briefing Note with further background and more information on the implications for motoring interests.
We have just been informed that the cut-off date legislation is to be commenced as soon as possible and the legislation will come into effect on 25 October. On 26 October, a statutory instrument to extend the cut-off date to January 2031 will be laid in Parliament and will almost certainly come into effect on 17 November.
This legislation will extinguish any historical rights of way not recorded on the definitive map by the cut-off date. But this extinguishment will not take effect until the cut-off date. So there would still be scope to reverse the process up until that point were there to be a further change of policy under another government.
A major cause for concern is that the cut-off date legislation will be coming into effect ahead of the regulations intended to provide safeguards, in the form of exceptions to save from extinguishment certain specified rights of way that are not recorded by the cut-off date. Moreover, these exceptions will now not be as comprehensive as the rights of way Stakeholder Working Group had recommended and been led to expect.
We understand that the Secretary of State has agreed to exceptions relating to rights of way that are:
However, the Secretary of State has not yet agreed to the exceptions relating to:
And, the Secretary of State is opposed to the exception to save:
These developments will have much greater impact on other user groups than on motorists, but will be of concern to anyone who makes use of rights of way. The only direct threat to motoring interests is the exception for unrecorded and under-recorded widths, which could affect accessibility of some BOATs.
Defra will not at this stage be commencing either paragraph 4 of Schedule 5 to the Countryside & Rights of Way Act 2000, which provides that BOATs cannot be added to the definitive map, or the supplementary cut-off date provisions in Deregulation Act 2015 (sections 20 to 22), which will all be commenced in due course.
We’re delighted to welcome the Association of North East Midland Motor Clubs (ANEMMC) as Associate Members of LARA. You can read all about the ANEMMC at https://www.anemmc.org/.
The Land Access and Recreation Association (LARA) and the National Motorcyclists Council (NMC) have formalised their existing partnership by agreeing a Memorandum of Understanding.
The LARA/NMC partnership combines the technical, legal and analytical of experience of LARA with the lobbying and public affairs expertise of the NMC. When working together on issues there will also be the combined strength more than 20 organisations behind activities.
In recent years the range of threats to motorised access to unsealed country roads has increased and is starting to spill over to black-topped roads, both rural and urban, with schemes intended to encourage ‘active travel’. Problems traditionally seen as being about rights of way and other unsealed routes are becoming an issue of concern for all recreational motorists.
The Memorandum establishes a framework for collaborating on preserving and securing access to unsurfaced and and other minor roads and to furthering the aims of each organisation in relation to recreation and sporting activities on both two-wheeled and four-wheeled motor vehicles
The partnership will also raise awareness of the positive contribution of recreational motoring to hard-pressed rural economies and the other positive impacts, such as the benefits for people’s health and wellbeing and for biodiversity.
Read the NMC Press Release
Read the Memorandum of Understanding
LARA has just published “Managing Motor Vehicle Use in the Countryside – A Good Practice Guide to Traffic Management on Unsealed Public Roads”.
Read Managing Motor Vehicle Use in the Countryside.
This completes the refresh of the suite of LARA publications covering the key topics of maintenance, enforcement and traffic management. This fourth document in the suite replaces both parts of the previous “Traffic Management Hierarchy” publication.
It provides public authorities in England and Wales with a practical guide on managing the lawful and responsible use of motor vehicles on unsealed roads and byways. It will also help other interests to understand the processes involved and issues raised.
We believe it is in everyone’s interests to see the highways network properly used and well managed and maintained. We share the Government’s aim of preserving and protecting our network of green lanes for the benefit of all users.
Parliament has already provided all the mechanisms needed to manage the use of motor vehicles. It is a question of how best to employ them. LARA and its members are keen to invest our expertise and resources to ensure this happens and assist with this in practical ways. This guide will help with that aim.