THE Countryside Agency has named August 19 as the date when it will publish the latest version of the map to determine those areas of land in part of North Yorkshire which are registered common land and open country.

The process is part of work to introduce a new right for people to walk on such land, and affects the upper north-west of England - which stretches as far east as Ripon and Harrogate.

The publication of the provisional map is the second stage of a three-part process. The first part saw an extensive consultation in the area between last December and March, when about 3,500 comments were received which have been used, along with other data, to create the provisional map.

Amanda Earnshaw, head of the agency's northern mapping team, said: "We're enormously grateful for the input we've already received, and how it has helped us to move to the next stage of the process - publication of the provisional map.

"Once the provisional map is published, people with a legal interest in the land, such as landowners, tenants and holders of common or sporting rights, a licence or agreement, have three months to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate, who run the independent appeals process, if they think the provisional map incorrectly identifies a site as registered common land or open country."

The provisional map will be on show at local authority offices, main libraries and other venues in the week following August 19. On that day it will also go live on the internet, at www.countryside.gov.uk/access/

mapping

Updated: 10:00 Wednesday, July 30, 2003