Public should have right to roam along riverbanks, say campaigners

Campaigners are calling for a public right to the riverbank after finding their local river has 108 separate owners, with 12% of it the property of offshore companies.

- Helena Horton

Residents used site visits, angling maps, Companies House records and Land Registry data to find out who owns the River Dart in Devon.

The government in its election manifesto promised to implement nine new "river walks" in England to extend public access to the countryside, after it U-turned on a policy of enshrining the right to roam in law.

No plans have been laid out for the walks, but under the current system ministers would have to gain permission from local landlords for the riverbanks to be used by the public.

Lewis Winks, who compiled the Dart research, said this could present a "logistical nightmare" requiring "time-consuming negotiations with dozens - if not hundreds - of large landowners and corporate bodies".