Please read the following terms carefully. They govern your use of the pages and maps on this Open Access website (the “Site”) and, by accessing the Site, you agree to be bound by them.
Introduction
The Site has been set up by Natural England in connection with its statutory duties under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 and subordinate legislation (the “CRoW Act”).
Licence to use Content
All “Content” (maps and other materials) on the Site is owned by Natural England or its licensors. You may do the following things with this Content:
(i) download and display Content on a computer screen for your personal use; (ii) print Content on paper for your personal use; and (iii) photocopy individual pages of Content, only where, as a landowner, you wish to exercise any of your statutory rights under the CRoW Act.
You may not:
(i) re-distribute, modify or commercially exploit Content; (ii) remove the copyright or trade mark notice from any copies of Content; or (iii) do anything else not permitted by paragraphs (i) to (iii) above.
Your attention is drawn to the background information on the maps displayed on this Site, which you can find here.
Accuracy and Completeness of Content
Whilst Natural England has taken all reasonable steps to ensure that Content placed on the Site is accurate, complete and up to date, it does not make any warranty that the Site or Content is accurate, complete or up to date.
Disclaimer
Nothing in this disclaimer shall exclude or limit Natural England’s liability for:
(i) death or personal injury resulting from Natural England’s negligence; (ii) fraud; (iii) any matter in respect of which Natural England is not permitted by law to exclude or limit its liability to you.
Subject to the preceding paragraph, your access to the Site and Content is provided without any conditions, warranties, representation or other terms of any kind, whether express or implied by statute, common law or otherwise. Natural England does not accept any responsibility in respect of your access to, or use of or inability to use the Site or Content. Natural England shall not be liable to you for any losses, costs, claims, demands, expenses or damages (whether direct or indirect and including loss of profits), howsoever caused, resulting from your access to, or use of or inability to use the Site or Content.
Privacy Policy
In the course of using the Site, you may be required to submit your personal data (as defined in the Data Protection Act 1998). We take your privacy very seriously and our use of your personal data will be in accordance with our privacy policy which you can find here.
Appendix A
Background information on the maps of access land.
General
1. Only “access land” is affected by the open access rights under the CROW Act (“the Act”). Most access land is either registered common land or “open country” – essentially mountain, moor, heath or down. Natural England is required to capture these areas on special maps – “CROW maps”. Land voluntarily dedicated by its owner or long-term tenant is also classed as access land. Once made, a dedication is permanent and binds future owners or tenants.
2. The new access rights are in force in across all eight areas of England.
3. Not all of the land included on Natural England’s CROW maps of open country and registered common land is classified as access land. This is because:
land with open access rights that precede CROW listed in section 15 of the Act (“section 15 land”) will not be subject to CROW rights, unless and until the section 15 rights no longer apply there; and
land of the types listed in Schedule 1 of the Act (“excepted land”) is excepted from the new rights, even if it appears on Natural England’s CROW maps.
4. There is more information below on these two categories of land.
Natural England’s “CROW maps” of open country and registered common land
5. The maps of open country and registered common land that Natural England is required by the Act to provide can be viewed on this website. They show dedicated land as well as the mapped areas of open country and registered common land. They treat section 15 land and some excepted land differently. Where local restrictions are in place, they also show the areas affected by them, as required by regulations.
6. The mapping process and the associated appeals process is now complete. The CROW maps will normally only be amended under the “decadal review” process. This is the review of the CROW maps that Natural England is required by section 10 of the Act to undertake at least every ten years.
7. Any changes of land use after the map becomes conclusive will not be reflected on the CROW maps until the decadal review of that area takes place.
8. In Mapping Area 1 (covering the South-east of England), the conclusive map does not show East Sussex registered common land because at the time the maps were compiled, the registers had been completely destroyed by fire. Because some registered common land in East Sussex is already shown on the conclusive map as open country, and some land is already accessible to the public under other legislation in accordance of section 15 of the Act, Defra decided that an early review cannot be justified on either cost or policy grounds. We have therefore been instructed to undertake the mapping of the registered common land in East Sussex as part of the decadal review of the conclusive map for the South East.
9. Town and village greens are registered under the same Act of Parliament as common land, but are legally very different. The CROW maps do not include town or village greens unless they have the characteristics of open country.
Excepted land
10. The new access rights will not apply to any land unless it is open country, registered common land or dedicated land. Even within these areas, any land of the types listed in Schedule 1 of the Act is excepted from the new access rights. This includes developed land and cropped land.
11. Excepted land is often clearly recognisable on the ground, and the maps on this website do not normally identify it as excepted from access rights. However, land under military byelaws has been removed from the maps of likely access land, based on data supplied by the Ministry of Defence. We have also removed racecourses / gallops and aerodromes using data supplied to us by Defra.
Section 15 land (Purple wash)
12. Natural England has produced a national digital dataset of Section 15 land. This land is separately identified on the maps of likely access land – even if the land is also open country or registered common land. Because Section 15 land has open access rights for the public, under other legislation it is not subject to CROW access rights, or to restrictions.
14. Natural England’s national section 15 dataset is a snapshot in time. It includes those areas of land where Natural England has been able to establish from available records that open access rights of the type covered by section 15 appear to exist. The dataset is known to be incomplete, and represents Natural England’s best efforts to assemble readily available information. If Natural England becomes aware of unrecorded section 15 land, it will periodically add it to the national dataset: this is not part of the decadal review process.
15. Some section 15 access rights are revocable or time-limited. If section 15 rights end, CROW access rights will automatically come into effect if the land also qualifies as CROW access land. Where such changes come to the attention of Natural England, it will modify its national section 15 dataset accordingly.
16. Not all land with existing open access rights is section 15 land. Non-section 15 open access rights will remain in effect alongside CROW access rights. Where appropriate, this land will appear on the maps of likely CROW access land.
