The Local Access Forums (England) Regulations 2002

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Section 94 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 requires local highway authorities and National Park authorities to establish advisory bodies to be known as local access forums. The forums are required to advise about improvement of public access to land in their area for open-air recreational purposes. These Regulations, which extend to England only, make provision for the establishment and conduct of local access forums.

Regulation 3 requires local access forums to be established before 8th August 2003 and includes consultation requirements. Regulations 4 and 5 make provision about the membership of forums and the terms of such membership. Regulation 6 provides for the conduct of the proceedings of forums, and regulations 7 to 9 provide for public access to the meetings and documents of such forums.

Regulations 10, 11 and 12 provide respectively for the employment of a secretary for each local access forum, for the reasonable expenses of the forum and its members to be met by the authority which establishes the forum, and for the preparation of an annual report on the discharge of the functions of the forum.

Regulation 13 enables joint local access forums to be established, and regulation 14 makes provision where a council of a London borough resolve to establish a local access forum.