Have your say on access to the countryside

If you know your footpaths from your bridleways, then Cheshire East Council wants to hear from you – as we look to recruit members for a countryside group.

The Cheshire East Countryside Access Forum offers the opportunity to advise the council on public access to the countryside.

The panel has a key role in looking at how the authority and other local bodies can improve access to the countryside for a variety of activities, including walking, cycling and horse riding. The forum is a statutory body set up under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.

It seeks to balance the desire for greater public access to the countryside with the needs of landowners and land managers and to ensure the natural environment is not damaged as a result.

The group covers a range of interests and experiences, including:

• Recreational use;
• Land management;
• The rural economy;
• Nature conservation; and
• Health, transport, heritage and other matters.  

Anyone who has an interest in, and experience of, countryside issues is invited to apply to join the forum. 

Members of the group would be expected to start and contribute to discussions about countryside access – and come up with imaginative solutions to any problems they may face.

Councillor Mick Warren, chair of Cheshire East Council’s environment and communities committee, said: “Cheshire East is a beautiful borough to live in and the right of people to get out and enjoy the natural environment of our stunning countryside is vital. 

“This is why this forum is so important and why I would encourage people to apply for one of the posts.” 

The group meets four times a year via video call. The closing date for applications is 5pm on Friday 15 July 2022. Interviews will be held around 4 August 2022 via video call.

For further information and an application form, visit the Cheshire East:

Countryside Action Forum webpage

email:

cecaf@cheshireeast.gov.uk 

or phone:

01270 686059

Pictured - Rural landscape near Crewe