Dedicated Land
Information
Sheet 12
The CRoW Act gives the legal right for the public to walk on land mapped as open country (mountain, moorland, heath and downland) and registered common land (subject to restrictions and excluding excepted land). It does not give a right to walk on any other type of land. However, it is possible for landowners and long-term leaseholders to voluntarily dedicate land they own as permanent CRoW Act access land.
Usually, the rights of access to the dedicated access land will be the same as normal CRoW Act access land. However, the landowner can, if they wish, specifically remove some of the general restrictions on particular activities when they dedicate the land. For example, the landowner could choose to allow horse riding or cycling on the land or allow animals other than dogs on to the land. The landowner can also, if they wish, specify other limitations or conditions on the right of access.
In order to dedicate the land, the owner must go through a legal process to record the dedication as access land. The dedication is notified to the Countryside Agency via the Open Access Contact Centre which will record the dedicated land on the open access website.
CRoW Act access rights to the dedicated land do not come into effect for six months after the dedication has taken place (although it is possible that the owner is still informally allowing access during this time). Before the six months has elapsed, the land will appear as ‘newly dedicated land’ (a burnt orange colour) on the maps of confirmed access land on the open access website. After six months, when the CRoW access rights come into operation, the land will become yellow (open country) on the website maps and access rights will normally be the same in every respect to other CRoW Act access land (unless the owner removed any of the general restrictions as described above). The rules about excepted land will apply and access can be restricted or excluded in the same way as other CRoW Act access land.
Return to the Open Access page.
Page updated 21 November 2005
