New Legislation for Outdoor Access: a Review of Part 1 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003

The manifesto for the incoming new Labour government of 1997 had a commitment to create greater freedoms for the public to enjoy open countryside, a rather old Labour inheritance. This led to legislation to create new rights of public access to land, enacted for Scotland through Part 1 of the Land Reform Act 2003 and, for England and Wales, in Part 1 of the Countryside & Rights of Way Act 2000. Scottish rights of access came into force on 9 February 2005 while, for England, a region-by-region programme of implementation was completed by the end of October 2005. Implementation in Wales took place on 25 May 2005.