PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
Anniversary of the Kinder Scout mass trespass (17 April 2023)

That this House notes that 24 April marks the anniversary of the Kinder Scout mass trespass; acknowledges that this trespass united the campaign for access to the countryside and eventually contributed to the establishment of the UK’s first national parks through the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949; recognises the growing body of evidence demonstrating the importance of access to nature for physical and mental health; is concerned that people from ethnic minorities are less likely to live near green space and that one in three people in England cannot access nature near their home; is deeply concerned about nature’s decline, with 40 per cent of the UK’s species populations having declined since 1970, and believes that improving the public’s connection with the natural world is essential to its restoration; notes that the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 only provides access to eight per cent of English land and that the public can only access three per cent of rivers in England and Wales; acknowledges that legislation in Scotland provides a right of responsible access and that European countries including Norway and Sweden have a much greater right to roam; and calls on the Government to introduce legislation to extend the right to roam and to improve promotion of the countryside code, to deliver on the 25 Year Environment Plan goal to conserve and enhance the beauty of our natural environment, and make sure it can be enjoyed, used by and cared for by everyone.

Sponsored by:
Caroline Lucas (Green Party)