Country parks and open spaces management rules

North Lanarkshire Council (‘the Council’) in accordance with Section 112 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 and Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, hereby makes the following Management Rules to regulate the use of and conduct of persons while in land or premises, owned or occupied or managed by the Council or otherwise under their control to which the public have access whether on payment or otherwise.  

In these Management Rules:

Executive  Director - means the Executive Director of Regeneration and Environmental Services for the Council for the time being or any duly designated officer of the Council representing him/her or acting on his/her behalf at any time and in any facility.

Notice - a Notice issued by or with authority of the Council and posted on, at or near the place to which it refers.

Water Fittings - includes pipes (other than mains), taps, cocks, valves, ferrules, meters, cisterns, baths, sinks, water closets, soil pans and other similar apparatus used in connection with the supply and use of water.

Waterworks - includes springs, wells, pumps, reservoirs, cisterns, tanks, aqueducts, cuts, sluices, mains, pipes, culverts, engines and all machinery, lands, buildings and things for the supply of water or used for protecting sources of water supply or for other public purposes.

Water Course - includes all rivers, streams, lochs, ditches, drains, cuts, culverts, dykes, sluices and passages through which water flows.

Country Park - a park or pleasure ground in the countryside, which by reason of its position in relation to major concentrations of population affords convenient opportunities to the public for the enjoyment of countryside or open-air recreation

Facility - means and includes any:

Land or premises which is owned, occupied or managed by the Council or is otherwise under their control and to which the public has access, whether on payment or not. 

The above includes all landscaped areas, footways or car parks and other land associated with or used in conjunction with any other facility as defined in these Management Rules.

Nothing in these Management Rules shall interfere with or prevent the execution of any duties of the Executive Director and any act of the Executive Director necessary for the proper performance of his/her duties shall not be deemed or considered to be in contravention of these Management Rules.

2.1 The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 gives the public the right of responsible access to most land and inland water.  People using any country park or facility in North Lanarkshire should comply with their responsibilities under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 and the Scottish Outdoor Access Code

2.2 The Executive Director does not accept responsibility for any person who has been injured within a facility whilst engaged in unauthorised activities, or activities that contravene any of these rules.

2.3 The Executive Director reserves the right to refuse entry to any person entering a facility where he has reasonable grounds for believing that the person has contravened, is contravening or is about to contravene any management rule applying to the facility

Any person who:

• has contravened, is contravening or is about to contravene any management rule applying to the facility shall leave the facility when asked to leave by the Executive Director.
• being a person subject to an exclusion order under Section 117 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (and any amendments made thereto), enters or attempts to enter the facility to which the exclusion order relates shall be guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale.

2.4 The Council may decide that a person who has persistently contravened or attempted to contravene these rules is, in its opinion, likely to contravene the rules again.  In that event, the Council may decide to make any such person subject to an exclusion order in terms of section 117 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.

2.5 These rules supersede and revoke all previous North Lanarkshire Council Management Rules and Supplementary Management Rules and shall, unless earlier amended or revoked, continue in force for a period of ten years from 13th August 2013.

2.6 The Council shall be at liberty to alter these rules or any part of them, from time to time, as they may see fit, and make and enforce such other rules as they may consider necessary for the proper or better management of any facility                                              

2.7 Any dispute arising as to the real intent, meaning or interpretation of these rules or any schedule of fees and charges shall be adjudicated upon by the Executive Director whose decision shall be final.

2.8 Nothing in these management rules shall permit any action, activity or behaviour which is prohibited by any other rule of law.

3.1 No person shall behave in a disorderly or offensive manner in a facility, or use violent, abusive or obscene language therein, or prevent the proper use or regulation of a facility.

3.2 No person shall wilfully, carelessly or negligently throw, roll or discharge any stone or other missile upon a Country Park or other facility, so as to cause, or to be likely to cause, injury, danger or annoyance to any person or injury, danger or molestation to any animal or bird.

3.3 No person shall throw, deposit, cause or suffer to fall, to be thrown, or deposited any paper, bottle, glass, rubbish, refuse or filth in a Country Park or other facility, except in receptacles specifically provided for that purpose.

3.4 No person shall foul or pollute any river, stream, loch, pond or other water upon or bounding a Country Park or other facility. 

3.5 No person shall enter an “Unauthorised Area”.

3.6 No person shall enter or remain within any building when such facility is closed to the public.

3.7 No person shall, remain in or use a facility when asked to leave by the Executive Director, whether in the event of an emergency or otherwise.

3.8  No person shall take on or leave in any facility:

• Any substance or article likely to cause injury or damage to any person or property, or
• Any substance or article which might occasion risk of any kind to any child or other person finding or handling same, or any waste or other harmful matter.

3.9 Any person who who uses a gate within a Country Park or other facility for the purpose of taking access, should leave it as they find it.

3.10 No person shall wilfully obstruct, disturb, interrupt or annoy any other person in the proper use of a Country Park or other facility or wilfully obstruct, disturb in the proper execution of any work in connection with the lying out or maintenance of a Country Park or other facility.

3.11 No person shall use any swing or gymnastic or playing appliance in contravention of any Notice set up in a conspicuous place or places near thereto indicating the age of the person by whom the swing or gymnastic appliance may be used.

3.12 No person shall discharge golf balls or other objects that are likely to injure or cause annoyance to other park users, or that will prevent other park users from being able to use a facility.

3.13 No person shall enter, occupy or otherwise use any building, shelter, seating accommodation or other area the use whereof has, by Notice conspicuously displayed, been restricted to persons above or within certain age groups or of one particular gender.

3.14 No person shall play any musical instrument, sing or perform or operate any radio or television receiver, or other sound-producing device, except for medical aids in any part of a facility set apart for the use of the public

3.15 Fishing and golfing are only permitted in designated areas. Notices will be erected at these areas to confirm that fishing and or golfing is permitted.

4.1 No person shall damage, injure, displace, remove, or destroy any part of a facility including any tree, bush shrub, plant, hedge, fence or building, wall, fence, gate barrier, railing or any other fixture situated in or ancillary to a facility, or deface or destroy the same by cutting, writing or otherwise. Any person so doing will be held responsible for the cost of any replacement or repair.

4.2 No person shall enter or stand, sit or walk in or upon any flower bed, border or shrubbery within any Country Park or in or upon any part of any Country Park or other facility where prohibitive Notices are displayed.

4.3 Except with the express written consent of the Executive Director, no person shall pluck, cut, destroy, remove or injure any flower, flower bed, soil, floral container, grass, tree (living or dead), shrub or plant, or fruit or fruiting body, in a Country Park or other facility.

4.4 No person shall damage a Country Park or other facility, any part thereof or anything thereon or therein, including, without prejudice to said generality, any tree, bush, shrub, plant, hedge, fence, wall or gate.

5.1 It is an offence for a person in charge of a dog not to immediately clean up after their dog has fouled on any public open space.

5.2 No person shall cause or permit a dog or any other animal belonging to them or otherwise under their control to enter or remain in a Country Park or other facility unless such a dog or other animal is under the full control of that person and effectively restrained from causing annoyance to any person, or from worrying or disturbing any wild birds or animals or damaging any flower, plant, tree or shrub.

5.3 No person shall wilfully kill, take, annoy/worry or disturb any animal or bird or take or injure the nest, eggs or young of any animals or birds within a Country Park or other facility, except with the written consent of the Executive Director.

5.4 No person shall, train or exhibit exercise any horse or other animal within a Country Park in a manner which is not consistent with their responsibilities in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.

5.5 No person shall engage in any operation on, or connected with, hunting, shooting, snaring, trapping, disturbing, taking or destroying animals, birds,  nests, setts or other habitats and without prejudice to the public use of existing Rights of Way, no person shall bring or have any engine, instrument or apparatus used or capable of being used for hunting, shooting, fishing (apart from in those areas where fishing is specifically permitted), taking or destroying of animals, birds, nests, setts or other habitats within any Country Park or other facility, except with the written consent of the Executive Director.

5.6 No person shall cause or allow any dog belonging to them or otherwise under their control, within a Country Park or other facility, to enter any building, shelter, children’s playground, nursery, competition area or arena, ornamental or other water or any place from which the Executive Director by Notice conspicuously displayed has specifically excluded dogs. Dogs are not permitted within the Children’s Farm or livestock fields within Palacerigg Country Park, Cumbernauld, G67 3HU.

5.7 No person shall, without prior written consent of the Executive Director wilfully bring or permit to be brought into a Country Park or other facility any living creature or the egg of any living creature or any plant or any seed or any other part of any plant in such circumstances that is likely that such a creature or plant will reproduce or propagate itself or that such egg will hatch or that such seed will germinate.

5.8 No person shall wilfully or negligently disturb, annoy or injure any animals grazing in a Country Park or other facility.

6.1 No vehicle, whether mechanically propelled or otherwise, shall be permitted or allowed to enter a Country Park or other facility without the prior written consent of the Executive Director, except by way of a recognised and approved access route

Motorised wheelchairs or similarly adapted vehicles are permitted in a Country Park or other facility for use by a disabled person and must be in use by a disabled person.

6.2 No person shall drive a vehicle, whether mechanically propelled or otherwise, in a Country Park or other facility except for the purpose of passing through the same by way of a recognised and approved driveway therein, and then only at a speed not exceeding the restrictions imposed and no person shall ride a bicycle or drive an adapted vehicle for use by a disabled person in a Country Park or any part thereof at such speed or at such a place or in such a manner so as to disturb, obstruct, interrupt or annoy any other person in their proper or authorised use of a Country Park or other facility.

6.3 No person shall drive a motor vehicle within a Country Park unless that person holds and is entitled to hold a licence to drive such a vehicle.

6.4 No person shall park any vehicle or caravan in the Country Park outwith the car parks provided, except with the express consent of the Executive Director.

7.1 No person shall wilfully or negligently break or otherwise damage any ice in any water (other than water or animal water provided by the Council for the purpose of bathing, wading or washing) or throw, place or deposit in any water, any stick or any substance of any description.

7.2 No person shall damage or obstruct the flow of any drain or watercourse, or open, shut or otherwise interfere with any sluice-gate or other apparatus upon a Country Park or other facility, except in the case of emergency.

7.3 No person shall wilfully or negligently damage, allow to be damaged or in any way  interfere with any Waterworks or Water Fittings.

8.1  No person shall affix or cause to be affixed any advertisement, bill, placard, notice, picture or writing, upon any building, wall, fence, gate, door, pillar, post, tree, rock or stone, in, upon or abutting on a Country Park or other facility nor shall any person deface by cutting, painting or otherwise writing or making words or remarks on any such building, wall, fence, gate, door, pillar, post, tree, rock or stone.

9.1 No person shall, without prior written consent of the Executive Director, erect, occupy or use any tent or other structure in a Country Park except for the purposes of wild camping as defined by the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.

9.2 No person shall either bring onto a Country Park or other facility any caravan for the purpose of residing there overnight or occupy or use any caravan on a Country Park or other facility for such purpose, except in such areas designated by the Executive Director.

10.1 No person shall, without the prior specific permission of the Executive Director, hold or cause to be held, site or cause to be sited within a Country Park or other facility any Fair or mechanical amusement, or play on or make or cause to be made any sound with any musical instrument or give or take part in any performance of exhibition of music or of other sound.

10.2 No person shall, within a Country Park or other facility, fly or permit to be flown any model aircraft nor sail or permit to be sailed any model yacht, ship or boat except on such part of a Country Park or the waters thereof as the Executive Director may by Notice or otherwise set apart for the purpose of the flying or sailing of such models and no person shall wilfully interfere with or obstruct the flying or sailing of any such model belonging to another person.