Access to Land:Social Class, Activism and the Genealogy of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act

Mayfield, Benjamin (2010) Access to Land:Social Class, Activism and the Genealogy of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act. Statute Law Review, 31 (1). pp. 63-83. ISSN 1464-3863

Abstract

This paper investigates the genealogy of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. The paper places the legislation within a broader, historical context and examines the social and legislative changes which prepared the way for a ‘right to roam’. The article also analyses the effect of civil disobedience and pressure group politics, questioning whether the new right of access is a victory for the access lobby, a compromise between conflicting interests or the product of an emerging political consensus.