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Should the public be able to walk on private land?

Channel 4 News21 views
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You have to fight back, don't you?You don't just lie down like a patsy.You don't want to pay.Why don't you want to pay?

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You want something for nothing.We brought together two people on the front lines of this battle to tonk it out in deepest Devon.How much land have you got?

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3 ,000 acres.

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And how much of that is publicly accessible?

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None of it has public access on.It's privately owned land.

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Which is the nub of the issue.A new documentary called Our Land explores why only 8 % of England is publicly accessible.1 % of the population own half of all England.

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We're not trying to disturb people's privacy.We're just saying that as people that live in this country, live in England, we would like to be able to access nature much more easily than we currently can.

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The Right to Roam campaign was born of the kinder mass trespass nearly a century ago, which created our national parks.Scotland does have a legal right to roam, albeit responsibly, but not the rest of the UK.Something Labour promised in opposition, but in power has gone quiet.And as far as France is concerned, you want to play, you got to pay.Is there any amount of wealth that you could have, which would mean that you would say, you know what, this is my gift to the nation?Or will you always say, no, boys, you've got to pay?

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I think people should pay for what they enjoy doing.

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Nature, privacy, responsibility.Things got heated.They kept coming back to this.Why can't you pay?

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It's your pleasure.

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Until lo and behold, the pistols were sheathed and a hint of progress.

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In return for a right of responsible access to the countryside, what about if more people actually got involved in doing things like helping take out invasive species?

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Picking up litter that's been left for whatever reason.Doing things about that.There's room to negotiate with every landowner and farmer on those very issues.

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Defra told us current government policy is to concentrate on expanding the network of national walks and forests rather than new legislation which it favoured when in opposition.Francis and Guy are but two voices in this complex discussion.

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