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Byelaws powers for local authorities

Local authorities have powers under certain Acts of Parliament to make byelaws on Common Land and Town and Village Greens, Country Parks and National Parks. Byelaws are local laws that create criminal offences. Before they can come into effect, byelaws must be confirmed by a Secretary of State. Defra deals with applications from local authorities and parish and town councils for confirmation of byelaws for which the Minister for Rural Affairs as Secretary of State is the confirming authority.

Detailed information on National Parks and Common Land is provided on the main index under the Common land and town and village greens and Landscape protection, including National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty entries.

Country Parks are rather less definite areas than National Parks or Common Land. Loosely, they are areas designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment. There are around 250 recognised Country Parks in England and Wales attracting some 57 million visitors a year. Most were designated in the 1970s, under the Countryside Act with the support of the former Countryside Commission. The majority are owned and run by local authorities.

The Countryside Act 1968 states that a Country Park is "a park or pleasure ground for the purpose of providing, or improving, opportunities for the enjoyment of the countryside by the public". In amplification of this definition the Countryside Commission considered that a Country Park is an area of land, or land and water normally not less than 25 acres in extent, designed to offer to the public, with or without charge, opportunity for recreational activities in the countryside. There is not necessarily any public rights of access to Country Parks and visitors are subject to any byelaws made by the local authority and enforced in the parks.

The following guidance has been prepared following a review of procedures aimed at reducing the time taken to confirm byelaws. The guidance is intended for the benefit of byelaw-making authorities wishing to make or amend byelaws relating to countryside recreation which require confirmation by the Secretary of State for Defra. The guidance and application forms can be downloaded using the following links:

Sealed or draft byelaws and any queries should be addressed to:

Andrew Crawford
Zone 1/02
Temple Quay House
2 The Square
Temple Quay
Bristol BS1 6EB

Draft byelaws and general queries can also be sent to: recreation.access@defra.gsi.gov.uk.

Other types of byelaws and related legislation are confirmed by various different authorities.

Contacts

For details on how to address byelaws and queries on regulations see our contacts page.

Byelaws consultation

A consultation was launched in 2005 seeking views on the Government’s proposals to improve procedures for confirming countryside recreation byelaws made under a number of Public and Local Acts of Parliament.

We proposed to request byelaw-making authorities, when seeking confirmation of byelaws, to set out what alternative approaches they have explored and why these are not sufficient to meet identified needs.

The consultation closed on 21 November 2005. Further information can be found at:

Windermere Navigation (Amendment) (No 2) Byelaws 1992

This amendment to the existing byelaws on Lake Windermere resulted in the introduction of a 10 MPH speed limit on the Lake on March 29 2000. In order to allow businesses time to adjust the Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA) decided not to enforce the new byelaws until March 2005.

Copies of various documents connected to the changes, including the Windermere Inquiry Report (12 February 1996), are available:

Alternatively, see the Lake District National Park Authority website.

Further information is available on our Help page about downloading or reading Adobe Acrobat PDF logo documents.

Page last modified: 22 May 2008
Page published: 30 April 2004

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs