The Open Spaces Society, Britain’s oldest national conservation body, has called for public access to form a core component of future agricultural support.

Responding to Defra’s Environmental Land Management (ELM) policy discussion document, the society believes the public must be able to see, enjoy and learn from what is achieved with spending raised from their taxes.

It has proposed that public spending on agriculture should bring: ‘more and enhanced access for the public, in extent, character and equality.’

Hugh Craddock, a case officer for the society, has called on Defra to make access options compulsory in scheme tiers one and three.

He said: “We have proposed that land managers in tier one, the entry level, should be required to keep cross-field public paths uncultivated and green byways rolled and mown—and be rewarded for their efforts.

“But this should not be optional—it should be an obligatory part of every agreement.

The society has proposed that tier two agreements, the mid-level tier, should reward new access, either along defined paths or ‘freedom to roam’.

He added: ‘There is huge opportunity to improve access under tier two.

“We’ve highlighted how new access should promote embrace all recreational users—for example, new paths for horse riders and cyclists; easy-access paths for those with limited mobility; wide, easy-to-use paths for family visits; educational access for schools.”