Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000

The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, also known as the CRoW Act, is a UK Act of Parliament that was intended to improve public access to the countryside and registered common land while recognising the legitimate interests of the owners or managers of the land concerned.

The Act implemented the ‘right to roam’ on certain areas of uncultivated land and upland in England and Wales, the extent of which was implemented gradually as new maps were produced. In addition to registered common land, the Act refers to ‘open access land’ or ‘mountain, moor, heath and down’.

The Act lists restrictions on the public when on this land, including not damaging hedges, fences, walls, etc., not leaving gates open, not developing the land, and so on.

Land that is exempt from the Act includes:

• Buildings and their curtilage (e.g. courtyards).
• Land that is within 20 m of a dwelling.
• Parks and gardens.
• Land used for utility stations, quarries, mines, railways, tramways, golf courses, and so on.
• Land covered by Ministry of Defence by-laws (i.e. military training grounds).

Land covered by the Act can be developed subject to local planning authority approval. Natural England should be contacted if development plans are expected to affect land that is registered as a site of special scientific interest (SSSI).

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki

• Bridleway.
• Building Design in the Surrey Hills.
• Common land.
• Commons Act 2006.
• Conservation area.
• Conserving and Enhancing Country Lanes in the Surrey Hills AONB.
• Easements.
• National Parks.
• National trails.
• Permissive path.
• Planning legislation.
• Prescriptive rights of way.
• Right of way.
• Tree rights.
• Trespass.
• Wayleave.