New trespass laws......

[Jeff Edwards]

I have just read the actual government consultation document and it is very one sided toward crimilizing any form of trespass as it does not define "reside" as in length of time in its opening sentence.
The missuse of legislation has always been but has grown of recent years, terrorism act against fracking protesters etc.
The actual language of the consultation on the HM website does give me cause for concern as they actualy state the powers already in place to not make ALL trespass a criminal offence. Who but landowners will benefit from the very first draconian measure?
Please read the consultation.

 

[Fadcode]

I think this has been brought in, or will be brought in, to stop travelers from invading land they do not own, or even if they do, will stop them from parking numerous caravans on it without planning permission, and also to do away with the archaic laws on squatting.

I think it is also important to look at the law relating to footpaths, bridleways etc, which if not reported to the council, or appear on a map, will no longer be viable after 2026, you have to remember that there are a mass of public rights of way that do cross through or near private property, and the owners have always fought to get them moved or done away with, and obviously this will hit Bushcrafters and campers, if they will no longer be able to use them.

One of the problems with our Laws is they take such a long time to be enacted, that we find it hard to be aware of the reasons for them, we may remember the Councils fight to have the travelers removed from an illegal site in Essex a few years ago, that cost them Millions of pounds, due to appeals, etc, etc.and it was obvious the Laws on these matters and squatting rights had to be curtailed and strengthened , and as usual with most new Laws it's the innocent ones who suffer.
Just as the Knife laws put us at a disadvantage, these will too, I mean you may think you have the right to camp on what you think is open land, but if someone comes along and tells you to move, you will have no option but to comply, unless you know for a fact that you have the right to camp, as even land that has always been seen as free to camp, could well change, due to new owners, owners who before couldn't care less, but now have been advised to keep their land private.

Once again our freedom will be hit...........will the travelers take any notice of the laws, probably not, they just get moved on, I am sure the Law wont bother prosecuting them as they most likely can't be contacted once they move on....................will we be prosecuted, probably not, depending on our attitude when told to move.....just another nail in the coffin................

 

[woodspirits]

Here’s my slant on this, HS2 is now a fact of life it is going ahead. There are already protesters occupying ancient woodland, there are issues with compulsory purchase. All will cause costly delay this is a big deal for the government and I see this as introducing preemptive measures.