Lake District National Park view (Freedom of Information Act)
2. September 2008
John Hee
Posted courtesy of Michael S. who approached the LDNP for information under the Freedom of Information Act.
Q. What is the LDNP’s guidance on wild-camping?
Although camping should be confined to authorised sites the Lake District National Park Authority accepts that wild camping on un-enclosed fell land, remote from the roads, is generally accepted if undertaken responsibly by small numbers of people.
Most land in the Lake District is privately owned and the attitude of most landowners is to tolerate wild camping unless damage or serious nuisance occurs. Unsanitary behaviour can be a particular problem. The Lake District National Park Authority’s Ranger Service continue to make regular routine visits to the more popular fell camping sites and encourage responsible use.
If you wish to camp on un-enclosed fell land you must:
- seek the permission of the landowner
- be out of sight of any road or dwelling
- not leave any litter
- not light any fires”
Q. Is issue ever discussed in official meetings?A. “There has been no documented discussion in the last three years of wild camping at the lake District National Park Authority or any of its Committees.”
I also asked if any staff were there to look out for wild-campers and move them on:
“We [LDNP] have 12 paid full-time Rangers and 4 paid full-time Field Rangers who could respond to reports of wild camping where either the public or landowners have concerns or are reporting such activity. This type of work is a minimal part of their work and tends to be reactive rather than proactive.
There are a number of general patrol routes that (approximately 175) unpaid Volunteer Rangers take part in – the activities carried out are rights of way maintenance, patrol of our property holdings, litter collection, and provide advice and guidance to the public and landowners. Some of this activity may include popular visitor sites including some known wild camping sites. Here the task would be to provide friendly advice and guidance to make sure campers meet the spirit of the guidance shown above. If evidence (for example litter and fires) of camping activity is left – this is usually cleaned up and taken away.”
News, Site News | 4 Comments »
Peak District National Park - A chance to have your say on Wildcamping?
31. August 2008
John Hee
A chance for you to offer your views on the Peak District, wildcamping access issues, and possibly reflect on why the Dartmoor NP policy may attract you to that area, rather than the Peak District?
Complete the survey, with a chance to enter a prize draw as well: www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/consultations
“Outdoor enthusiasts, visitors and residents are being urged to have their say in a public survey about the future of recreational activities in the Peak District National Park. The information gained will be used to:
• Plan how to manage demand and deliver services to support recreational activities in the NP
• Meet Government targets to increase physical activity - with the health benefits that brings
• Raise awareness of the special qualities of national parks and what they can offer for different groups
’We are also really keen to hear from people who don’t use the national park to find out what is putting them off and what services they would want to see before they would feel comfortable coming’
The information gained from the survey will be used to produce a recreation strategy for the Peak District National Park. This will include an action plan with targets for the Peak District National Park Authority and partners…… so that recreational services better meet the needs of visitors and residents”
News | 1 Comment »
Be A Responsible Wild Camper
25. August 2008
admin
For an interesting article on wild camping up in Scotland pop on over to Cameron McNeish’s blog and read his posting ”Wild Camping In Scotland“. Which discusses being a responsible wild camper, and the current attempts to educate the masses as to what those responsibilities are.
“The recent petition on legalising wild camping in England and Wales has helped focus attention on the definition of wild camping, even in Scotland where its legal status was formulated under the provisions of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003.“
Bloggersphere, News | 7 Comments »
The next step …..
27. July 2008
John Hee
If you happen to check by from time to time you may be wondering why it is a little quiet in light of some of the articles appearing on various Blogs etc. This may explain any apparent lull in proceedings:
“The campaign steering group are cognisant of the effort many organisations & individuals are putting into the current Marine Bill legislation. This is partly behind us currently staying our own campaign. We appreciate the importance of the measure. Rather than allow any detractor to play divide and conquer against the Outdoor groups we offer our support in the most constructive way we feel relevant i.e. stay out of the way”
(Press/Bloggers etc - copy can be freely used, assuming site source is referenced)
Bloggersphere, News | 0 Comments »
Lest we forget
1. July 2008
Bearded Git
It’s worth remembering that the Wildcamping Campaign is not a political campaign.
It’s all about changing the Law and changing the minds of whoever is in Government, it’s not about changing the Government.
IMO, of course.
Uncategorized | 0 Comments »
Response to the RESPONSE
24. June 2008
John Hee
The E-P’s backers are considering the next move and the level of support.
Its not quite as negative as it reads at first and the Marine Bill was always likely to get first crack at the available resource/backing.
But the elephant is now firmly in the room
Thanks for those who’ve shown their support - the campaign website will be updated with news as things unfold
Bloggersphere, News, Site News | 2 Comments »
Wildcamp E-Petition - Government Response
23. June 2008
John Hee
23 June 2008/We received a petition asking:
“We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to legalise wild camping in England and Wales.”
Details of Petition:
“Currently without the landowners concent it is illegal to wild camp on the moors, mountains, National Parks and MOD land. It is time to give people the same rights as those given North of the Border in Scotland to allow them to wild camp in these places without threat of legal action.”
The Government’s response
This Government appreciates the potential benefits of wild camping in England and its attractiveness to campers who already have the opportunity to camp in the wild in Scotland.
The Land Reform Act in Scotland allows for wild camping, but the land issues and the legislation in England are somewhat different. The introduction of wild camping in England would be a controversial issue, which would require both significant consultation and legislative change.
On open access land wild camping is prohibited under Schedule 2 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, which lists all restricted activities. Therefore, new Regulations would be required to exclude wild camping as a restricted activity. Any change to the current rules on wild camping in National Parks and Ministry of Defence land would require new primary legislation.
The Government has no plans to allocate the necessary resources to consider proposals for such legislation at present, and is concentrating on following up the successful introduction of 750,000 hectares of open access land with new legislation on access to the coast in the Marine Bill, which is currently going through Parliament.
News | 8 Comments »
Petition Mentioned In Latest TGO
4. June 2008
admin
If you go down to your nearest newsagents and pick up a copy of the latest TGO magazine (July 2008 issue) you will find near the front Cameron McNeish’s editorial about the petition and wild camping.
News | 1 Comment »
Petition Closes With Over 2000 Signatures
4. June 2008
admin
The petition closed on the 24th March, with over 2000 signatures. The final total was 2021 signatures.
Now we have a wait while the petition is passed on to the relevant Minister or Government Department. They will then respond to the petition, and that response is then emailed to all 2021 people that signed the petition.
What happens after that well who knows. We have to wait to see what the response is and take it from there. But whatever happens this is not going to go away.
A big thank you to all those that signed the petition, and also to all those involved in raising the awareness of the petition. Whether that was writing blog posts, handing out leaflets, writing magazine articles, writing to their MP, posting on forums, it all helped and thank you.
News, Petition Count | 0 Comments »
Petition - Final Day - Checklist
24. May 2008
Bearded Git
First up:
A few folk have contacted me saying that they’d signed the petition but their names weren’t on the list. Eventually we sorted it out, it turned out to be one of the simplest things I’ve done for a while…
The thing to realise is that it’s a two-stage process:
- Fill in the details on the sign-up page and then click the “sign” button. Contrary to what you would think, this does not sign you up, it just registers your details and triggers the sending of a confirmatory email to the address that you put on the sign-up page.
- Open the confirmatory email and click on the link in it. That does sign you up, and it returns you to the sign-up page where, after a short time, you should see your name somewhere on the list.
It’s no good just doing stage 1, you have to complete the process.
So, if you think you’ve signed, please check that you are actually on the list.
Sorted.
Second:
If you signed up as a couple, putting two names in the one application, it’ll only count as one signature. Please consider sorting this out so that you have one application each. Thank you.
Finally:
The count is currently at 1981, we’re aiming to hit the 2000 mark before the end of today when the petition closes, so if you can get anybody else to sign up, please act fast!
Thanks for your consideration and your support.
Petition Count | 2 Comments »
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