The Countryside Act 1968 (c. 41) is an act of Parliament in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

which enlarged the conservation and recreation functions of the existing National Parks Commission and re-named it the Countryside Commission. It provided for the establishment of country parks and gave local authorities certain powers in respect of the management of

common land Common land is collective land (sometimes only open to those whose nation governs the land) in which all 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 ...

and of the provision of camping and picnicking sites and provided for grants to such bodies for their establishment. It provided for the employment of countryside wardens and for the making of byelaws in connection with such facilities. The Act conferred powers on certain authorities to exercise control over boating on waterbodies within

national parks A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

and over the conversion of

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of Habitat (ecology), habitat found in upland (geology), upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and the biomes of montane grasslands and shrublands, characterised by low-growing vegetation on So ...

and heathland to agriculture. It put in place provisions regarding ‘ areas of special scientific value’ and access to ‘open country’ as defined in the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 and made other amendments to the 1949 Act. It conferred upon water undertakers and the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respons ...

powers to provide for public access and enjoyment in and around reservoirs and forests, and amended aspects of the Forestry Act 1967, including provision for compensation in respect of the making of tree preservation orders. The Act gave powers and duties to highway authorities in respect of the signing of public paths and in respect of the maintenance of stiles and gates on paths. It introduced provisions regarding the ploughing and reinstatement of public paths during agricultural operations and also provided for bicycles to use public bridleways. Further provision was made as regards traffic regulation orders in parts of the countryside. Certain other miscellaneous provisions were made by the Act

Background

''The Countryside in 1970'' conferences held in 1963 and 1965 led to the publication in 1966 of a

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

white paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. Since the 199 ...

called ''Leisure in the Countryside'' which proposed ''inter alia'', the creation of country parks near to centres of population so as to ease pressures on wilder areas. The next year the publication of the report of the Gosling Committee recommended a suite of proposals concerning access to the countryside. The Countryside Bill which was then introduced to Parliament was informed by these two reports.

References

{{Authority control United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1968 Conservation in the United Kingdom 1968 in the environment Environmental law in the United Kingdom