Scottish Outdoor Access Code
Click here for Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003
The Scottish Outdoor Access Code has now been approved by the Scottish
Parliament (Thursday 1 July).
The new Code provides guidance on responsible behaviour for recreational
users and land managers.
The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 creates a statutory right of responsible
access and will be accompanied by the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.
Ramblers Scotland has taken a leading role in the development of both the
code and the legislation.
Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has a statutory duty to prepare this Code
and had a public consultation on a draft version. SNH then made
recommendations to the Scottish Executive. The Code was then introduced to
the Parliament by the Executive.
The Justice 1 Committee of the Scottish Parliament were appointed to
consider the code and had sought views from interested parties. Ramblers
Scotland submitted written evidence to the Committee. They considered the
code on 30 June - taking oral evidence from The Deputy Minister for
Environment and Rural Development, Allan Wilson.
We support the Code as approved by Parliament and recommended that it should
be approved.
The Proposed Code is long and quite complex. We therefore encouraged the
Committee to seek clarification from the Minister on several points, in line
with ministerial assurances given during the parliamentary debates and
discussion that accompanied the passage of the land reform legislation
through the Parliament.
The final version of the Code was approved by the Parliament on 1st July
and the text can be accessed on the Scottish Natural Heritage website
-
http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/access/ApprovedCode050604.pdf
The legislative framework provided by the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003,
along with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, should provide Scotland with
outdoor access arrangements which are better than any other European
country. This should be recognised as one of the main achievements of the
Parliament and Scottish Executive in the years following the establishment
of devolved government.
For further information on the Code, please contact Ian McCall at IanM@scotland.ramblers.org.uk or telephone: 01577 861222 or visit the Scottish Natural Heritage website on www.snh.gov.uk
Click here for Background to the Draft Scottish Outdoor Access Code