The new right of access will clearly bring benefits to walkers, but we expect it will also provide benefits for the rural economy. The access team organized two celebratory walks in Millington Pastures on November 5th, 2005 attended by about 50 persons and several walk in our programme have taken advantage of these new rights.
b. Means of Access to Access Land.
In the Wolds is a problem concerning means of access to access land and also with means of access between parcels within a given site. Some sites are completely land-locked (e.g. Thorn Dale near Warter) and for many others getting from one part of the site to another involves climbing over a barbed-wire fence (e.g. Millington Pasture Dale). This is problem that occurs in other areas with downland, e.g. East Sussex. Local authorities can apply for funding to provide “reasonable” access to open country, but different authorities interpret “reasonable” differently. PL had a discussion on this issue with Chris Jones (CJ) (Access Officer NYCC) and Tom Halstead (TKH) and Peter Leese (PL) had a similar discussion with Andrew Chudley (AC) (Countryside Access Officer ERYC) in April. Following the meeting with AC, we sent him a paper giving our wish list for access improvements in the Wolds. If, during the next financial year, the authority were to improve the access arrangements within major dale complexes in the way they did during the past year, then we suggested that the following should be given priority:
i. The complex of dales in Cottam including: Cinquefoil Brow, Elvin Lear and Phillip's Slack.
ii. The complex of dales in Wold Newton around Fordon, including: Danbur Manor Road West, North Dale, The Sheepwalks and East Dale.
However, we thought that from the walker's point of view, a higher priority than currently given should be given to the following activities:
· providing means of access to access land that is presently land locked, by creating new rights of way;
· providing additional means of access to access land where a boundary of the land is close to an existing public right of way or highway, by creating a new right of way;
· creating new possibilities for circular and longer linear walks by linking existing public rights of way via access land, as suggested in the previous bullet point.
We had several suggestions for the creation of short new rights of way to link access land either to other access land or to existing public rights of way that, in our opinion, would significantly increase the opportunities of users to exercise their access rights and to enjoy the countryside. We suggested that the highest priority be given to the following:
Warter. The complex of dales north of Warter leading off the Golden Valley is almost as extensive as that at Millington but access to it for walkers has been denied for many years. The dales involved include: Keasey Dale, Well Dale, Thorn Dale, Blakes Dale, Minning Dale and Scarn Dale and immediately to the west, Back Dale. At present, the only means of access is from the Minster Way into Well Dale. Except for Thorn Dale and Blakes Dale, the individual dales are not contiguous, but could be linked via the track that runs along the valley bottom from the top of Keasey Dale to Warter. Apart from Thorn Dale, each of the dales could conveniently be entered from one of the two roads that flank the complex.
Millington. Although means of access within the complex is now very good, access rights be enhanced even more by providing additional could means of access into some of the dales. We think that there is permissive access through Huggate Dikes from Frendal Dale onto York Lane (and thence to Horse Dale - see 4 below). Sylvan Dale could easily be reached from Cobdale Lane. The northern end of Scoar Dale could be accessed by plantation tracks either from near Millington Grange or from the green lane at its extreme northern end.
Cob Nab to Swineridge Bridge. A complex of dales runs north to south between the Bishop Wilton escarpment and the Millington complex. It includes the access land at Cob Nab and Manna Green, White Keld, South of Gildingside and Ridings Beck. A natural route through the complex starts at Cob Nab as a continuation of the PRoW that meets the A166 opposite Cot Nab Farm, runs south through Deep Dale, Manna Green, along the plantation road into Whitekeld Dale to cross the Minster Way and Chalkland Way at the mouth of Given Dale, and continues along the west bank of Ridings Beck to Swineridge Bridge.
Horse Dale to Huggate Dikes. There is a natural, probably ancient, route along the earthworks in Horse Dale crossing York Lane on to Huggate Dikes and thence into the upper part of Frendal Dale and thus into the whole of the Millington complex. A track leads from Horse Dale to York Lane. We think that there may be permissive access to the Huggate Dikes from York Lane.
Cottam. This complex of dales (Cinquefoil Brow, Edwin Lear and Phillip's Slack) is well served with rights of way, but there is no way out of the northern end of Phillip's Slack to High Street or out of the western end of Cow Dale through Woodhill Farm. From Woodhill Farm connections could be made to School House Dale, then through Towthorpe Dale and eventually into Whay Dale, thus linking otherwise isolated areas of access land.
Fordham Dale. This landlocked dale could be accessed from the Wayrham picnic site along a farm track and at its northern end via plantation track to its junction with Wayrham Dale. This would make an attractive circular walk from the picnic site.
c. Action by Local Authorities. The Access Management Grant Scheme (AMGS) was set up through the CA to meet the government’s commitment to ‘no undue financial burden’ being placed on landowners affected by the new rights. The scheme was to provide local authorities with 75% of the cost of making new access land available and safe for use. Last year the ERYC spent £40,000 on 12 sites, which was 1/3 of the identified work to be carried out. AMGS funding has now been frozen, pending a decision by the CA or its successor English Nature.
Until that decision is taken, there is little likelihood of any money being available for work or information on access land in the East Riding. A similar situation presumably pertains in the North Riding.
d. Section 15. The CA is researching the extent of land subject pre-existing access rights, which are preserved by CRoW. Many of these enactments grants right in addition to ‘walking’, e.g. horse riding. With the help of members from Scarborough we checked the information held about three small sites to the west of Scarborough: Cumboots (SE 989 918), Church Beck and Green (TA 009 902), Foulsyke Pond (TA 009 912).
e. Excluded Land at Long Dale. This long running and complex issue is still being pursued. During the year letters on the topic were left unanswered by NYCC officials for some months and the matter was referred to the NY Local Access Forum through the sole rambler representative on the forum, a West Riding member called David Gibson. In spite of his best endeavours this referral was completely ineffective in furthering our interests as the forum was dominated by members whose views coincided with those of the tenant farmer and this process of referral took some months. However, more recently a letter to the Head of Countryside Services complaining about the lack of response produced an immediate reply and the information that the tenant’s application for special restrictions on safety grounds had been deemed unworthy of consideration by the CA, as it then was. There is also a new Access Officer in post who is seeking a site meeting with the tenant and a representative from Natural England to try to resolve the matter. He rang us to seek our views and, subsequently, asked to be sent our proposals for signage. He was told of our view that there was a need to encourage the public to exercise their rights by displaying a map of all the contiguous access land at Long Dale, with a text explaining the different rules which govern access to the various parts. A visit on 8 September 2006 revealed an illegal sign, with the original wording used by the farmer, still being displayed at the western end of the excepted land and the Access Officer agreed that any sign at that location should be the same as the signs at the eastern end. It remains to be seen to what extent these proposals influence the final outcome. So far the county council have only been concerned to display signs addressing the safety issue and have ignored the matter of encouraging public access; we can only hope for an improvement on this front now we have a new Access Officer.
f. Restrictions at Raisthorpe
TKH had correspondence with Justin Cooke (Freedom to Roam Team) concerning the issuing by the PINS of two directions for Raisthorpe:
i. An outline direction to prevent disturbance of game. Access may be excluded for up to 50 days between 1 September and 1 February each year, the open season for partridge. Restrictions may only take effect on shooting days and, where a shoot takes place on a Monday, on the preceding Sunday. This will last for 5 years.
ii. A full long-term direction requiring dogs to be kept of leads between 1 August and 1 February each year for 5 years.
3. Dedication of York Strays
A set-back was encountered when the official in charge of the government’s initiative to promote dedication under the CRoW Act declared they were not interested in anything which would inhibit development. This was the objective of seeking dedication of the Strays. It might be worth challenging this statement or at least seeking further clarification. However, there can be no progress unless the support of the Freemen of York can be obtained and we are currently awaiting a response to a letter to their administrator asking whether they would be interested in a meeting to discuss dedication.
T K Halstead, Area Access Officer
When walking out on these new access areas -please come prepared for some rough walking, the possibility of inclement weather, with sufficient food & drink for the outing and NO DOGS (who are only allowed on Public Rights of Way)
For more information please contact: Tom Halstead, 01904 448380
www.eastyorkshireramblers.org.uk
Access land in Scotland was opened from February 2005 but is governed by different access laws.
For more information go to www.ramblers.org.uk
