The Open Spaces Society says it deplores the U-turn by the environment secretary, Thérèse Coffey, who announced that she will not repeal the 2026 deadline for recording lost paths, instead delaying it by five years to 2031.
The society’s general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, strongly criticises Ms Coffey for this broken undertaking.
Ms Ashbrook said the reinstatement of the cut off will lead to the loss of countless historic paths in England for ever.
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She said: "The Westminster government, unlike the Welsh, is apathetic about public access, if not hostile. Witness its failure to provide any new access under the environmental land management scheme—another broken promise."
She also points out that there has been no further public announcement about the government’s January pledge, that everyone should live within a 15-minute walk of ‘green or blue space’, vital for the 21.5 million people who do not have that opportunity. Nor, she says, has the government acted in response to the recommendations of the 2019 Glover review, for stronger protection of national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty.
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