Is perception of the risk of liability for visitor accidents a barrier to countryside access?
The Countryside Recreation Network commissioned research in to landowners’ liability, and the perceptions around this. The report has been published and can be found on the www.countrysiderecreation.org.uk website, direct link here. Sheffield Hallam University interviewed landowners and reviewed court cases to see how concerned landowners were about liability from recreational accidents, and whether perceptions matched reality. The main findings of this report were: • The level of liability was low. • Courts consistently refuse to support claims for recreation injuries • The number of claims made in the last decade have slightly reduced • Judges and policy makers keen to promote: • personal responsibility • avoidance of a risk-averse climate • reduced growth in compensation culture • Privacy and management control are actually the major landowner desires • There is little evidence that larger landowners such as FC & NT • misjudge potential level of liability • discourage recreation pri
