Landmark law that opened up Welsh commons to public marks 100 years

This week marks the centenary of landmark legislation that transformed public access to common land, securing rights that continue to shape how people enjoy some of Wales’ most iconic landscapes.

On January 1 1926, Section 193 of the Law of Property Act 1925 came into force in England and Wales following Royal Asssent.

The legislation created, for the first time, a legal right for the public to walk and ride on large areas of common land in towns and the countryside.

The change was achieved largely through the campaigning efforts of the Open Spaces Society, then known as the Commons and Footpaths Preservation Society.

The organisation feared that earlier drafts of the Act could have led to widespread enclosure of commons and pressed instead for stronger public protections.

Under Section 193, people were granted rights of access for “air and exercise” on metropolitan commons and commons within former boroughs or urban districts.

This covered around one-third of all common land in England and Wales — approximately half a million acres.

Wales played a particularly significant role in the legacy of the Act. By 1932, following initiatives led by the Open Spaces Society, the Crown Estate Commissioners dedicated around 100 square miles of Welsh commons for public access. These areas remain among the most important open landscapes in the country.

They include around 2,000 acres at Pumlumon, straddling the border of Ceredigion and Powys, as well as a further 2,000 acres at Penmaenmawr on the Gwynedd coast.

Together, these commons encompass upland moorland, coastal hills and habitats of major ecological and cultural importance.

While the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 later extended the right to walk across all remaining commons, the original Section 193 rights to both walk and ride still endure.

The right to ride on these commons was reaffirmed by the High Court in 1998.

Long struggle

Kate Ashbrook, general secretary of the Open Spaces Society, said the centenary was an important reminder of the long struggle to protect shared landscapes.

She said the society was proud to have helped secure rights to walk and ride on urban and rural commons a century ago, adding that the fight to protect commons remained just as relevant today.

Common land, much of it in Wales, continues to support public recreation, wildlife habitats, historic land-use traditions and rural livelihoods. With around 1.5 million acres of common land across England and Wales, the legacy of the 1925 Act.