The Countryside Access (Appeals Procedures) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2005

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (“the Act”), the National Assembly for Wales (“the National Assembly”) has the power to make regulations to set out the procedures to be followed in determining appeals brought under Part I of the Act. The Countryside Access (Appeals Procedures) (Wales) Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/1794) (W.169) (“the Appeals Procedures Regulations”) were made in July 2002 to set out such procedures.

These new Regulations amend the Appeals Procedures Regulations by inserting into those Regulations a new Part VA and by making the necessary minor consequential amendments to enable the other provisions of the Appeals Procedures Regulations to apply to an appeal against a decision of a relevant authority not to act in accordance with an application for a direction under section 25(1)(a) of the Act, where appropriate.

The new provisions—

(a) introduce a fast-track procedure for the determination of an appeal brought by a person who applied to the relevant authority (the Countryside Council for Wales or, as the case may be, the relevant National Park authority) for a direction permitting the exclusion or restriction of access to land for the purposes of fire prevention (section 25(1)(a) of the Act) and the relevant authority decided not to give the direction applied for; and

(b) enable a hearing to be held once the National Assembly has received the relevant preliminary information from the parties to enable the appeal to proceed.