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ARCHIVE: Recreation
People expect access to the countryside and urban green spaces for enjoyment as part of their civic rights and one of Defra’s key outcomes is:
People enjoy, understand and care for the natural environment
Over 1 billion visits are made to the English countryside every year, involving a wide range of recreational opportunities, contributing approximately £11 billion to the rural economy. Rresearch demonstrates the health and well-being benefits of regular exercise and benefits of access to open space.
Defra plays a critical role in the provision, management and regulation of the infrastructure which provides for this access, including;
- setting the legislative and policy framework for the rights of way system and wider access
- sponsoring management of our finest countryside, including access opportunities, by the National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
- sponsoring Natural England which has statutory responsibility to help access to the natural environment
- providing financial support for farmers and land managers which is increasingly oriented towards delivering public benefits, one of which is high quality, accessible countryside
- encouraging increased diversity of visitors to the natural environment by pursuing the Diversity Action Plan
- policy on caravan and camping exemption certificates
In this section:
- Outdoors for all - diversity action plan
Learn more about how we aim to increase the number of people from diverse groups who participate in outdoor recreation and access the natural environment over the next 10 years - Camping certificates
Find out if you need a camp site certificate - Caravan site exemptions
Find out the criteria which exempts caravan sites from requiring a license and planning permission.
Page last modified: 23 October 2008
Page published: 23 October 2008