Land, rights and the gift: the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 and the negotiation of citizenship

Parker, G. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3079-4377 and Ravenscroft, N. (2001) Land, rights and the gift: the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 and the negotiation of citizenship. Sociologia Ruralis, 41 (4). pp. 381-398. ISSN 1467-9523 doi: 10.1111/1467-9523.00190

Abstract/Summary

The Countryside and Rights of Way Act came into force at the end of 2000 with,as part of its content, new provisions relating to public access to the English and Welsh countryside. In this paper we review the main elements of the Act and assess its meaning in relation to citizenship, territoriality and the place of land in English law and society. We invoke Mauss’s (1954)concept of Gift to explain the process of brokerage being made over access and rights in the countryside. In conclusion we reflect on the Act as being indicative of a wider move towards Bromley’s (1998)post-feudal scenario for land and its governance.