Friday, November 11, 2005

Property price crash – Press release

It is estimated that thousands of homes across England and Wales currently accessed by a minor public roads, will suffer substantial loss of value following the introduction of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) bill.

Section 62 of NERC is well intentioned, setting out to remove illegal “nuisance” use of motor propelled vehicles from sensitive rural areas. However this poorly drafted and ill-conceived piece of legislation will leave thousands of properties with no legal vehicular access rights.

The bill, in its current form, removes public rights to drive motor vehicles on Minor public roads such as RUPPs (roads used as public paths) and UCRs (unclassified roads). In itself NERC is a landmark piece of legislation, never before has any Government sought to remove any our public rights of way, this in itself sets an unsettling precedent, however its impact on thousands of properties across the country will be enormous. NERC has already brought many transactions to a standstill, as blighted properties have become unsaleable during the transit of the bill.

The fix drafted by government, is to provide access for property owners via a yet to be defined, and understandably unproven, form of private right, this is a legalisation of access, which in law is substantially inferior to a public right. Legalising the use of the road does nothing to ensure landowners provide an unobstructed, suitably maintained route, as the current right of does, thereby accessing the property may be lawful, but could easily be made physically impossible.

It is unlikely, being a new procedure, that obtaining this as yet undefined new right will prove easy and more importantly quick, it also puts the onus on the property owner to claim and prove it. This situation is compounded by the legislation being backdated to May 2005. If the bill goes through as is, access rights have already been removed.

Estimated by the House of Lords to impact on billions of pounds worth of property, the proposed law will undoubtedly have little or no impact on its principle target – illegal drivers of quad bikes and off-roaders, a change in the law will not change the habits of those that choose to break the law.

Press Officer
GLASS – Green Lane Association
PO Box 48
Huntingdon
Cambridgeshire
PE26 2YY

www.glass-uk.org