Tuesday 12 December 2000
Members of SORN (Scottish Outdoor Recreation Network) are holding a special briefing meeting for MSPs and outdoor education teachers from all over Edinburgh to outline their concerns over proposed legislation effecting land and inland water access rights in Scotland.
Due in the Scottish Parliament in February the planned legislation intends to permit a right of responsible access to all land and inland water in Scotland for informal recreation and passage. The legislation, it is hoped, will help to broaden opportunities for physical recreation and sporting participation in Scotland.
Following concerns from outside the Scottish Executive, the proposals are now under threat of being revised. SORN has a number of concerns with possible revisions to the proposed legislation that it intends to highlight. One of these concerns is that access for groups may be restricted. This would have serious implications for the positive educational experience that children get from accessing the outdoors.
Hosted by Angus MacKay MSP the main focus on the evening will be speeches by outdoor education teacher Mary Higgins and her pupils at special needs school, Kingsinch and Fred Nelson of SORN followed by a question and answer session, relating to the issues raised.
- The proposed legislation will particularly effect leisure pursuits such as walking, cycling, horse riding, rock climbing, skiing, canoeing, swimming, rowing, windsurfing, and sailing, which are largely dependant on access to the Scottish countryside. Walking has the highest sports participation figure in Scotland at 28% of the population. (Source: Sports Participation in Scotland 1999, sportscotland.)
- The briefing will take place on Wednesday 13 December 2000 at Kingsinch School, 233 Gilmerton Road, Edinburgh at 6.00pm.