Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they anticipate that the National River Walks will involve the creation of new (1) public rights of way, or (2) permissive access agreements.

This Government committed in its manifesto and the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025 to create nine new National River Walks, one in each region of England, as part of our plans to improve responsible access to nature.

This Government will launch a competition to identify the next National River Walks later in 2026. The type of access created for each National River Walk will depend on the proposals brought forward by delivery partners. Further details on how applications will be assessed will be set out when the competition is launched.