PM to the PM

Maybe some lasting good will come from 2020...?

Excerpt from open letter to Boris signed by 101 household names, including Stephen Fry from this manor, who have voiced their support of a campaign to open up more land and rivers for responsible public access:

"Twenty years ago this week the Countryside and Rights of Way (CRoW) Act became law. It introduced for the first time a Right to Roam in England, giving people access to some of our beautiful landscapes. It has been both highly successful and incredibly popular, yet it covers only a fraction of our countryside. We have freedom to roam over just 8% of England, and only 3% of rivers in England and Wales are legally accessible to kayakers, paddle-boarders and wild swimmers. But just over the border in Scotland, the law encourages the public to swim, walk, camp, kayak, forage and climb, to connect with nature in a responsible manner that is better both for them and for the environment. Why should we, in England, be denied this right?

Lockdown demonstrated how vital it is for us to have access to green outdoor space, both for our physical and our mental health. There is now a body of scientific evidence showing just how essential nature is for our wellbeing. A simple walk in the woods can boost our immune system for a month afterwards. Exercising in a green space can help combat ADHD in children, and obesity, stress and depression in adults.

Physical inactivity costs the NHS around £1bn per year, and wider society around £7.4bn per year. So let’s follow the science: to improve the
health of our nation, to alleviate the pressure on the NHS, we need greater access to nature. That’s why we are supporting the campaign to extend the Right to Roam (www.righttoroam.org.uk).

We support their proposals to extend the CRoW Act to cover woodlands, rivers and Green Belt land, because these landscapes would give millions more
people ready access to nature on their doorsteps. Access to nature is unequal: one in eight British households has no garden, and Black people in England are nearly four times as likely as White people to have no outdoor space at home. To be truly beneficial to our health, nature must not be treated only as an occasional holiday destination, but be a part of everybody’s everyday lives. Doing so could also boost the economy through increased tourism, and could lead to benefits for the environment: studies show that the more people experience nature, the more likely they are to protect it.

Full letter:

User Posted Link

Right to Roam website: User Posted Link

Posted By: Tombs on December 8th 2020 at 08:47:42

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