Council calls for Scottish Outdoor Access Code to be updated
dailyrecord.co.ukA councillor has said he was threatened with violence after asking someone to move their car.The Conservative councillor made the revelation as he tabled a motion - which narrowly won the support of councillors - requesting a review of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code (SOAC).The Conservative councillor said the current code was "no longer fully fit for purpose".Perth and Kinross Council's SNP council leader Grant Laing has been instructed to write to the Scottish Government calling on NatureScot to review the code to make it "relevant".Proposing the motion - at a meeting of Perth and Kinross Council on August 17 - Strathtay Conservative councillor Ian James said: "This motion doesn't seek to prevent people accessing our beautiful countryside and lochs but to update the code which is no longer fully fit for purpose."He added: "I was actually threatened with violence myself when I asked somebody to remove their car from a field a farmer was trying to gain access with his combine harvester to."It's not just a Perth and Kinross problem but a national problem."Cllr James added: "It doesn't confer for a right to roam but a right to reasonable access."He claimed the code was "20 years past its sell-by date".Seconding, Conservative Highland Perthshire councillor John Duff said the influx of visitors to Perth and Kinross had recently "mushroomed and doesn't look like declining".He welcomed the growth in visitors but called for action to be taken in revising the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.Cllr Duff said: "It doesn't just cover the countryside, the access code covers open spaces within our cities and towns and our inland waterways too."The Highland Perthshire councillor added: "We are not seeking to take away that enjoyment or
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