The Yorkshire Dales Access Forum (YDAF) was established by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority in October 2002 as a statutory advisory body, following the Countryside and Rights of Way Act (CRoW) 2000.
The Forum’s role is to provide advice on the improvement of public access within the National Park for the purposes of open-air recreation and the enjoyment of the area. As such, it advises the Authority on the right of Open Access to the countryside. It plays an important role in advising more generally on matters of recreation and access across the 2,000 kilometres of footpaths, bridleways and byways in the National Park.
In giving advice, it has regard to:
- the needs of land management,
- the desirability of conserving the natural beauty of the area, including the flora, fauna and geological and physiographical features of the area, and
- guidance given from time to time by the Secretary of State.
Local Access Forums (England) Regulations 2007 can be found here.