Scottish Access Legislation -
Outdoor Access Code
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Introduction Diary Current progress
Scottish Outdoor Access Code
The Land Reform (Scotland) Bill Is Trespass Illegal in Scotland ?
Passing of Bill welcomed Previous events
Draft Land Reform (Scotland) Bill - |
With the Land Reform Act having been passed and received Royal Assent, there was one final step before the new laws come into effect, The Scottish Outdoor Access Code has now been accepted by Parliament. The Act places a duty on Scottish Natural Heritage to produce and promote the code to provide guidance on responsible behaviour for recreational users and land managers.
SNH previously published a draft of the code for which the public consultation period ran until 30th June 2003. They have since published a new draft, having considered the responses to the consultation. This version was submitted to the Scottish Executive for consideration. In late May 2004 the Access Code was approved by Ministers and on 1 June it was laid before the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Parliament Justice 1 Committee met to consider the final version of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code on June 30th and took evidence from Deputy Environment Minister Allan Wilson. The outcome of their debate on the Code was that the version of the Code in front of them was accepted and put to the full chamber of Parliament the very next day. July 1st is the last day of Parliament before the summer recess. In the Justice 1 Committee debate Allan Wilson described the Land Reform legislation as the most significant piece of legislation in first five years of the Parliament.
On 1st July the Code was approved by Parliament without further debate or division as the very last item of government business conducted in the Assembly Building at approx. 1645 hours. A truly historic moment.
This triggers the final pieces of work from SNH and the Scottish Executive to hopefully enact the access section of the Land Reform Act and the Scottish Outdoor Access Code before the end of 2004. Whilst no firm date is decided yet, our estimate is that enactment could be in November or December - but watch this space for further news on that date. The final version of the Scottish Outdoor Acess Code, as approved by the Scottish Executive, can be downloaded from the SNH website, together with various supporting documents. www.snh.org.uk
Other documents available to download are
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This page is part of the old website of the Mountaineering Council of Scotland. To visit the new website, click on www.mcofs.org.uk |
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