The Rivers Access Campaign is an ongoing initiative by the

British Canoe Union British Canoeing, formerly known as the British Canoe Union (BCU) is a national governing body for canoeing in the United Kingdom, established in 1936 as the British Canoe Union. In 2000 it federalised to become the umbrella organisation for ...

(BCU) to open up the inland waterways of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

to the public. Under current English and Welsh law, public access to rivers is restricted, and only 2% of all rivers in England and Wales have public access rights.

Current access situation

There are of inland river and canal in England and Wales with navigation rights, and over of inland rivers with no access. England and Wales are unusual in the level of restriction upon their waterways and are considered two of the most difficult places in the world to gain access to rivers. The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 grants a "Right to Roam" specifically to areas of open land comprising: * mountain (land over 600 metres) * moorland * heathland * downland * registered

common land Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person who has ...

In England and Wales there is no blanket right of access to non-agricultural land, unlike

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, where the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyr ...

passed the 2003 Land Reform (Scotland) Act granting access for both land and inland waterways to the public. The UK government has encouraged canoeists to seek negotiations and create access agreements for privately owned water with land owners throughout England and Wales. For over 50 years both the BCU and WCA have been working to seek these agreements for access, which has resulted in , a total 4% of all privately owned linear waterways in England and Wales being opened up with some form of public access agreement. The Welsh Canoeing Association estimate that there are around 300 rivers in Wales suitable for kayaking, only 13 of which have any form of legal access agreement. Most of these agreements permit access only on certain days of the year or for short sections of the river. The government has decided to pursue further agreements in 4 study areas, over a 2-year trial period. However, there is no guarantee that this trial will grant further access, with recent government studies showing that access agreements are unlikely to be able to provide the necessary resources needed for water sports.

The law

Legally the water itself is not owned, but ownership of the lands include stream bed ownership. Under common law, the presence of water does not provide a right to use the space occupied by, or immediately above the water. This is a civil offence , and may incur a fine or possibly a court

injunction An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in p ...

to prevent further trespassing. This applies to any member of the public, be they canoeists, rowers, swimmers, or anglers. It has been suggested that a "

common-law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

" right of navigation exists on any navigable water in England and Wales: however, this has been refuted by legal experts. The only arrestable offence is aggravated

trespass Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels, and trespass to land. Trespass to the person historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, woundi ...

, under the

Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (c.33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It introduced a number of changes to the law, most notably in the restriction and reduction of existing rights, clamping down on unlicensed r ...

, where a

criminal offence In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

is committed whilst trespassing. There must also be intent to disrupt or intimidate those engaged in lawful activities.

References

External links

British Canoe Union websiteWelsh Canoeing Association websiteRiver Access for All
{{Canoeing and kayaking Canoeing in the United Kingdom Freedom to roam