The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 – Barden Fell CRoW land.What happens when section 15 agreements end? And what about your dog?
This is a follow up about CRoW land and section 15 exemption. In the previous article I looked at the CRoW legislation and access going back to 1945, which seems to create a two tier system. CRoW land, which is subject to the ‘Right to Roam’ , and CRoW land which is excluded from the the Right to Roam, by a pre existing access agreement, under section 15 of the act.
The image of the sign (above) at the foot of Barden Moor, Skipton is a good example. Barden Moor, owned by the Devonshire Estate used to have a special access agreement granted from the landowner in 1968, to the local authority who represented the public. This private agreement gave the masses the rights to go on the moor, but it was always quite a clandestine affair. And hard to get hold of a copy. That agreement expired in 2018, and it seems the Moor reverted to ordinary CRoW land then.
Dogs are prohibited from leaving the footpath (known as the ‘bridleway’), however they’re not prohibited from going on the Moor entirely. Nor is there a law about keeping your dog on the lead. Although being on the lead makes it almost unarguable that your dog is under control, it’s fine to let them off PROVIDED they don’t stray off the path or cause damage.
It seems the estate has served notice on the ‘relevant authority’* to stop you taking your dog off the path and onto the moor itself, as the CRoW Act does in fact expressly permit you to take your dog off the footpath!
Provided the notice sent from the Estate (the landowner who uses the land to rear Grouse or Birds) to the ‘relevant authority’ – possibly Natural England, complies with the sign regulations – full details here – then you are trespassing by going off the path with your K9 friend. If those signs served on the relevant body are ‘none compliant’, then the dog ban may not be enforced.
In any event, it’s an aggravated trespass if you cause damage to the moor. So fines and prosecutions could be on the cards. Getting evidence of it would be something else, although mobile phones with cameras are prevalent. Do take care.
*Note – the relevant authority seems to be ‘Natural England’ – last time I checked Barden Fell was wrongly list as s15 land on their interactive plan.
It’s worth remembering that if anyone tries to stop you using the ‘Right to Roam’ – they actually fall foul of the CRoW act and expose themselves to claims of trespass, injunctions or even claims of criminal damage. You can in fact cause criminal damage something you own, so it would apply to the land owner or their employs or agents or volunteers too…
Happy Roaming.
Footnote – Climbing at Crookrise Crag
The British Mountaineering Council bought Crookrise Crag some time ago (Crookrise Crag sits above Skipton on the moor). It is currently registered to one of their holding companies. That is also CRoW land, and not subject to s15 any longer. There are plenty of guidebooks about climbing on Crookrise crag. I strongly suspect that the demise of the crag to the BMC creates an easement over the land retained by the Estate – if you go to the crag with the intention of climbing for example, access may be by use of the BMC’s easement over the estate land, not the public footpath, although the route may be the same.