Cheshire East Countryside Access Forum

The purpose of the Forum is to encourage and enable public access to the countryside for recreation and enjoyment. It is a statutory body set up as part of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act (2000) to advise Cheshire East Council and Natural England on putting the new legislation into effect. It is independent of the Council.

The Forum works to balance the desire for greater public access to the countryside with the needs of landowners and land managers and to ensure the natural environment is not damaged as a result. It also gives advice to planners of major housing and transport developments about protecting existing public rights of way and incorporating the needs of walkers and wheelers, cyclists, horse riders etc.

Its members are volunteers representing different countryside interests including cycling, walking and wheeling, conservation, land management and horse riding.

The Forum meets four times a year, with meetings being open to the public - please contact cecaf@cheshireeast.gov.uk if you would be interested in attending.

It can set up sub-groups on particular issues to work outside these times and report back to the Forum. Recent work of the Forum has included:

Publicity following the NFU Mutual Rural Crime Report 2024
Submission to the Council’s consultation on the Local Plan Issues Paper
Supporting the Lindow Moss Partnership project Heritage Lottery Fund application

Forum members are happy to attend meetings of local groups to explain more about the work of the Forum - please get in touch if this might be of interest to your group.

The Forum covers all of Cheshire East except for that part of the county inside the Peak District National Park - the National Park has its own forum. The Terms of Reference of the Forum (PDF, 145KB) can be downloaded for information.

Membership

Current membership of the Forum is as follows:

Table list of forum members
Forum member	Areas of interest
Marian Andrews	Disabled accessibility, walking
Alison Dale	Accessibility, walking, conservation
Chris Driver	Wildlife, conservation, planning
Terry Dykes	Walking, cycling, running and wildlife conservation
John Handley - Vice Chair	Land management, landscape interpretation
Cllr Chris Hilliard	Ward Member for Wilmslow Lacey Green
John Matthews	Walking, cycling, environment, conservation
Maurice Palin - Chair	Walking, cycling, sustainable tourism, environmental issues
Laureen Roberts	Accessibility, especially equestrian access
Gail Robinson	Accessibility for all, walking, care and maintenance of the countryside
Richard Vickery	Health improvement, local communities, walking
Helen Wainwright	Land management, responsible footpath use
Ivor Williams	Visitor and rural economy, land management
Martin Wood	Accessibility, health improvement, cycling