Issue 20, June 2007
In this issue
Hello,
We've had some fantastic coverage in the press lately as walking is relevant to all the big, current agendas - health, transport and climate change. Keep an eye out for our campaigns in the papers and if you have a spare five minutes, please write a letter to the editor supporting our stance.
From newspapers to White Papers - the White Papers on Planning and Energy have just been published. Read our response below.
Do you walk on the coast in Wales? Please get in touch if so - we're feeding walkers' views into local authority plans for a coastal path around Wales.
contact us: newsletter@ramblers.org.uk
to unsubscribe see the footer of this email.
Walking: read all about it!
The Ramblers' Association has received some great coverage in national media recently, including an article in The Independent showcasing our coastal access campaign. Read the article here.
Numerous national newspapers, including the Guardian and the Daily Mail also reported this month on new research showing walking can help with depression and other mental illnesses.
Have your say! In future, consider writing a letter to a newspaper if you see an article you empathise with. For example you could write in and describe how walking helps you with depression or anxiety, or explain why you would support the campaign for a legal right of access on foot to the British coastline. Well-written and concise personal letters from walkers will always help add weight to a campaign or issue. The address to write to is always printed on the letters page of the newspaper and usually includes an email address.
Coastal walking in Wales
We are keen to hear from anyone interested in coastal access issues in Wales. Local authorities are now developing their plans for the all Wales coastal path and network of paths, which are to take account of different users.
We want to contribute to these plans and ensure the interests of walkers are represented. Please email us at beverleyp@ramblers.org.uk for more information or to share your views.
White papers published at last
Two major new policy statements have finally been published by the government. The new White Papers on Planning and Energy will have a massive influence on how our countryside develops over the coming years. Worryingly, the government appears not to have listened to the Ramblers’ Association and other environmental organisations who were calling for a sustainable and climate-friendly approach to these two issues.
The Planning White Paper proposes the introduction of a new Planning Commission to speed up the implementation of ‘Major Infrastructure Projects’. The Energy Paper commits the government to a new generation of nuclear power stations. You can read our initial reaction to these papers here:
http://www.ramblers.org.uk/news/2007/PlanningWhitePaper.html
The Energy White Paper can be found at http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/whitepaper/page39534.html
and the Planning White Paper at
http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1510503
Keep up to date with the latest campaign developments at http://www.ramblers.org.uk/countryside/planning/planningdisaster.html
Top secret: a stealthy threat to your right to know
Did you know that since 2005, when the Freedom of Information Act 2000 came into force, the public has been able to request information from public bodies, and that those bodies, subject to certain exemptions and a cost bar, have been obliged to disclose the data requested?
From the hygiene report on your child’s school canteen, to the way in which Gordon Brown took the decision (later reversed) to abolish environmental impact reporting for big business (a five minute conversation with an aide who had just lunched with a CBI chief) freedom of information is a vital tool which you can use to size-up the performance of public bodies and find out what what is being done on your behalf, with your money.
The new right to information has helped the Ramblers’ Association win legal cases and hold authorities to account on their rights-of-way duties, so we are alarmed by new government proposals which will substantially weaken the Act and compromise the public’s right to know.
We’d like you to learn more about this issue by visiting our website. If you feel so concerned by what you read that you feel compelled to express your thoughts to your MP, all the better!
Blue book special offer
The Ramblers' Association together with the Open Spaces Society have just published the fourth edition of Rights of Way: a guide to law and practice, aka the Blue Book - the definitive guide to rights-of-way law in England and Wales.
Written by John Riddall and John Trevelyan, two of the country's leading experts on rights-of-way law, this book analyses all the legislation affecting rights of way in England and Wales and explains the current legal lay of the land in contemporary and accessible terms.
The Blue Book is an essential work of reference for anyone whose work involves rights of way, and is also a fascinating read for those interested in the historical and contemporary usage of public paths in England and Wales.
The new edition will be supplemented on a regular basis by the Blue Book Extra website. The website gathers all relevant online resources together, including judgments, statutes, and some documents created specially to assist readers. In addition supplementary material will be made available for download to keep the book up to date.
Special introductory price until 30 June 2007 £25.95 (RRP £29.95). Buy a copy.
Walking fact:
A brisk one-mile walk in 20 minutes burns around 100 calories - as much as swimming for 10 minutes, playing football for 12 minutes or doing aerobics for 16 minutes.
