PeteIsn't it the Vagrancy Act that 'stops' wild camping? #camping #Right2Roam #Trespass
PuntarellaDa Hashtags hilfreich sind eine spontane Auswahl: #ClimateJustice #Solarpunk #FOSS #ViaCampesina #Right2Roam #Gemüse #LibrarySocialism #Kollaps #R2r #MobilitätFürAlle
Radical AnthropologyDay 4: an inspiring talk with #HarryJenkinson of #Right2roam. We are a #nomadic species, and our capacity to care for nature depends on our political and cultural rights to be part of it -- not cut off from it.
Wild Service - and the Human Right to Roam by Harry Jenkinson 05/11/24
In this talk, Harry Jenkinson will present the concept of Wild Service: a philosophy of reciprocity with our fellow species, made possible through increased human…
PeteThere was a rep from the (Tory shill) CLA on Farming Today this morning, discussing party manifestos and their demands of a new government. Their talk of improving access—obviously with no mention of a #Right2Roam— made me wince with asking for funding to create "circular access routes" seemingly seen as something us peasants ought to grateful for.
Their 'mission statement' re access is here:
https://media.cla.org.uk/documents/Mission_5_-_Access_LR_WEB_pdf.pdf
Their 'mission statement' re access is here:
https://media.cla.org.uk/documents/Mission_5_-_Access_LR_WEB_pdf.pdf
Countryside access curbs in England ‘cost six times’ Scotland’s right to roam
How did we lose the land? #RightToRoam #Right2Roam #Trespass
HOW DID WE LOSE THE LAND?
IN THIS NEWSLETTER: English Landownership // Next Trespass Location // Access Islands Dear Roamers, We spend a lot of time arguing for the right to access land, but why don’t we have it in the first place? One answer is because its ownership is wildly unequal, with less than one percent of the population owning fifty percent of the land in England. Some of these acquisitions date back as far as the Norman Conquest, when lands controlled by around four thousand Anglo-Saxon Thanes were divvied up between two hundred Norman barons and clergy and the rest subsumed by the new conqueror king. The consequences of this millennia-old invasion still have bizarre ramifications today. In 2009, the people of Swansea were shocked to discover they had to pay the Duke Beaufort (who lives in a 52,000 acre Estate in Gloucestershire) £280,000 just for permission to build a footbridge over the River Tawe in 2009. Why? Simply because he “owned” the river bed over which the bridge traversed. These latent forms of taxation weigh heavy on the rest of us – not least when it comes to accessing land. Case in point: last month the Country Land and Business Association (the body representing major landowners) released their position on access reform. Their central proposal was - hold your surprise - that landowners be paid large sums of public money for so-called ‘permissive access’ arrangements. In other words, for the temporary permission (not the right) to access pre-selected areas of land and water at said landowner’s convenience. Such permissions can be revoked at any time, and disappear whenever the public payments dry up. Now, it’s true that access sometimes needs infrastructure to be consequential: think stiles, gates, a bridge over boggy ground. That costs money to install and takes money to maintain. It’s unlikely to happen without some kind of incentive. But that’s a bit different to payment-for-permission. It's the access equivalent of Beaufort’s bridge: extracting rent for owning land, rather than fair payments for doing the work. It's worth saying that several other CLA proposals were more reasonable (we probably should make landowner liability clearer for instance: it’s not the Duke of Beaufort’s fault if I brain myself on a rock. And while existing liability law is widely misunderstood, that’s reason enough for reform). But it is rather telling that landowning organisations are content to explain how vital access to nature is for everybody’s health when they want their members to be paid to ‘provide’ it. But that the public has plenty of access already, thank you very much, when they’re not. Which brings us to today’s business… Next Trespass: 'A Fayre For All' (Cirencester Park) For 326 years Cirencester Park has been freely open to members of the public. Originally purchased by Benjamin Bathurst with profits from the slave trade. Like many wealthy beneficiaries of slavery, Bathurst laundered his reputation through philanthropy: in this case, by extending public access to the park in perpetuity. Now, they’ve had enough. Rather than wait to see if they can blag some government handouts for access (in addition to the £400,000+ the Estate has already been cashing in from public agricultural payments – they also have a trust based in the tax haven of Bermuda), they’re doing it the old-fashioned way: charging people outside the immediate area to go for a walk instead, priced at a cool £4 a wander. Unsurprisingly, locals are unhappy and they’ve called the campaign in to support. So, we’re pushing back. On Sunday March 17th we’re organising a Fayre For All at the park, the same weekend the charges are due to be introduced. No Pay Protest. “Mass Trespass”. Call it what you like. We’ll be hearing from historians about the legacy of the slave trade for the land today, and celebrating hundreds of years of community fêtes, festivities and nature competitions: the true heritage of the park. If you’ve been waiting for an opportunity to join us, now’s your chance: it’s proximity to the town makes it one of the logistically simple locations we’ve ever held an event. Sign up using the eventbrite below (free coaches currently planned from Swindon and Bristol): https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/myevent?eid=846039215067 Access Islands A big thank you to all who supported our decision to postpone our access island event a fortnight ago. It was a tricky call but, having seen the swamped-out ground first hand, definitely the right one. Still, the plan got the word out. Myriad articles were published in the national press about the issue and it triggered an impromptu debate in the House of Lords featuring powerful interventions from Scottish peers. Many of you also heeded our call to venture to your own nearby access island, sharing your stories on social media, and to our inbox. We've been enthralled, entertained, saddened and gladdened by what you reported – from the barbed wire island near Coverack explored by Mark; the rocky scrubland with far-reaching views to St Austell Bay enjoyed by Helen; an obscure access island just outside of Blackstone in Nottinghamshire highlighted by Andy; and the miraculous gorse island which required Holly and Alex to go wading – dedication! We’re gathering the evidence and filing it in a big folder called ‘Why the CRoW Act is Broken’ to be handed over to the next politician we encounter. If you want to read me being deeply sarcastic about access islands, here’s a piece I wrote for The Lead. Warning: weak gags about Taylor Swift contained within. Petition We’ve now hit over 30,000 signatories for our petition calling on UK Party Leaders to commit to reforming our access laws. Big thanks to all of you who have signed and shared. Keep pushing! For those who haven’t got round to it, it really does just take a few seconds. Sign here: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/p/righttoroam We’re still building our fighting fund for this year’s big election push, so if you’ve got a pint’s worth of cash to bung at the campaign we’d really appreciate it. We won’t be around forever and are resourcing ourselves with one goal: to win. Donate using the link or button below. Spring blessings, Jon on behalf of the Right to Roam Team To follow us on social media: Twitter: @Right_2Roam Instagram: right.2roam Facebook: right2roam To donate to the campaign: Click the button below or visit: righttoroam.org.uk/donate
We’re Sorry, Thérèse Coffey
Dear Roamers, Autumn is a time for reflection. And, with the recent departure of the Environment Secretary, Thérèse Coffey, we find ourselves reflecting on the government’s record on access to date. First, a heartfelt apology to Thérèse. Last month at the Conservative Party Conference she told an audience of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation that she was “frankly fed up with the Right to Roam campaign” and that “the only things that have rights to roam are farmers, their pigs and cattle.” She was so happy with the killer line, she repeated it twice: dropping it into her main conference speech. So this weekend our London group made it up to her by organising a mass trespass of the Arundel Estate in West Sussex, owned by the Duke of Norfolk. Dressed as livestock - just as Thérèse requested - attendees peacefully wandered off-piste through the venerable deer park and sang Happy Birthday to the departing Secretary of State. But it’s no wonder she’s fed up, having achieved absolutely nothing on access - or any other part of her brief - since taking office. After the pandemic, the government promised us a “quantum shift” in access to the outdoors and nature. Then they shelved the Agnew Review which was supposed to deliver it. Belatedly, they published their response to the Glover Review, with its recommendation that ‘fair access is given to all’. The response was meaningless drivel. The ‘2021 England Trees Action Plan’ promised the expansion of access to woodland. It has unsurprisingly failed to materialise. Meanwhile Coffey’s own big idea: a promise that everyone will live ‘a fifteen minute walk from green space or water’ is so unlikely to actually happen it’s the policy equivalent of an acid trip. So, we’re sorry you’re fed up Thérèse. We are too. Policy for People, Not Major Landowners With this government having achieved zilch on access, a lot is riding on the opposition parties stepping up. But the Labour Party appears to be reconsidering its access policy. It has recently rowed back on comments made by former shadow environment minister, Alex Sobel, in the House of Commons, that “Labour’s approach, like in Scotland, will be that Labour’s right to roam will offer access to high-quality green and blue space in the rest of Britain. We will replace the default of exclusion with a default of access.” Now reports say the party will look to extend the Countryside and Rights of Way Act instead. This is still a welcome commitment. But we think it’s the wrong approach: extending CRoW will be harder to communicate, prove more complicated, cost more money, and achieve less than simply adapting the Scottish approach – which created a default right of access and worked backwards to identify sensible exceptions. Public money should go towards supporting access infrastructure and educational resources which help people understand their rights and exercise them responsibly, not drawn-out mapping exercises conducted solely to appease the landowning lobby. The result will be better for everyone. We are currently putting together the arguments, statistics and mapping results which support that view and will redouble our efforts to make sure they’re heard. Nothing is set in stone. And over the next year, with a general election looming, we want to show all parties that expanding our right to roam is both a big vote-winner and politically essential. Help Us Reach 500 Subscribers Want to help support that work? We’ve estimated we need 500 new subscribers to make the campaign sustainable over the coming year and ensure we can focus on the stuff that matters, rather than running around raising funds. So a huge thank you to those who have already donated: we’ve now reached 20% of our target! We know times are tight but if you are able to contribute, click the donate button below, or follow the link here. Autumn blessings to you, and all nomadic livestock. Jon & the Right to Roam Team To follow us on social media: Twitter: @Right_2Roam Instagram: right.2roam Facebook: right2roam
A short ride this evening after a decent walk this morning.
And you ain't seen this view, right? 🤫 #trespass #right2roam #cycling
And you ain't seen this view, right? 🤫 #trespass #right2roam #cycling
Whistling TreasonMorning view from Ingra Tor on #Dartmoor. I see that Darwall is dragging his attempt to stop wild camping on Dartmoor (a traditional custom going back over 100 years) to the supreme court. Hopefully he loses again, and we can begin the task of introducing a right to camp like Scotland has, across the rest of the UK.
#right2roam #righttoroam #thestarsareforeveryone #landscape #landscapephotography #blueskies #devon