Campaigns and Policy > Countryside and Disability Policy
Countryside and Disability Policy
Disabled and access to the countryside
Council applauds the work of the Countryside Access Group in seeking to establish a strategy for access to the countryside for mobility disabled people, underpinned by disability discrimination legislation. It fully supports the aspirations for access to much of the general network of footpaths and trails by disabled people, noting emphasis on protecting legitimate rights of landowners and avoidance of urbanisation of the countryside.
Council notes the following key objectives of the strategy:
recognition of increasing use of rugged designs of wheelchairs, scooters and buggies;
need for removal and/or design of stiles, kissing gates and where possible steps;
acceptance that path surfaces should be largely left as found.
Council instructs EC to take into account the needs of disabled people in present thinking and future policy.
The Disabled Drivers Association (DDA) Disabled Ramblers Association Group warmly thanks the Ramblers at national, Area and Group levels for its continuing encouragement and support to Areas and Groups with particular emphasis on the following local actions:
to monitor highway authorities to ensure they adequately fulfil the statutory requirements of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act of making proper provision to enable disabled people to make better use of local paths and trails in their improvement plans;
to champion representation of disabled people on all local access fora, and to work with such representatives in progressing the cause of better access.
Improving access for disabled ramblers This meeting welcomes and approves the work of the Disabled Ramblers, seeking to improve access for disabled people using countryside paths and trails.
It notes with approval the need for very high quality access only in highly visited and developed places and also welcomes the more informal approach proposed elsewhere, which recognises the needs to avoid urbanizing the countryside with unsuitable surfaces and treatments.
Also see Stiles
