On a sunny January day, a ghostly figure draped in green ribbons looms over the moors of southwest England. It was a man dressed as old Crockn, the Guardian of Dartmoor. He was welcomed by 3,000 people who had gathered to protest a court ruling that stripped the right to camp in the area. It was the largest rural access protest in living memory.
The ruling has reignited longstanding concerns about land in the UK: Who owns the land? Who can use it? Nobles and landed gentlemen still own about 30% of Britain’s land, while half of Britain’s land is owned by less than 1% of the population.
How did we get here? What does land ownership have to do with wealth and power? Is there another way?
Ayeisha is joined by Nadia Shaikh, a naturalist, conservationist and land justice activist with The Roaming Rights and New Economics Foundation Associate Fellow Frances Northrop.
Further reading:
- Learn more and participate in roaming rights here
- listen Land for Who podcast series
- Learn more about Ecoland Cooperative here
- read Sell from Under You Surveys
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Image: iStock
