Thousands of landowners in parts of the North West and South East have lodged objections to proposals to designate parts of their property as public open space.
The Today Programme has also learned that one organisation charged with monitoring the impact of the new law has raised concerns about the whole process.
As part of the new Countryside and Rights of Way Act, draft maps have been prepared identifying so-called "open access" land where walkers can roam freely.
Open access should only include mountain, moor, heath and down. Improved or semi-improved land (areas which have been enclosed, drained, ploughed or used for grazing) are exempt.
However thousands of people have already contacted the Countryside Agency complaining that parts of their farms have been wrongly included in the draft maps.
The agency has received more than 3,000 comments from people in the lower North West and South East regions. The majority of those comments are certain to be objections.
The Peak District Access Forum which was set up by the Government to monitor the impact of the new legislation has written to the Agency complaining about the errors in the draft maps.
Its chairman Andrew Critchlow said the mapping process had been a "hash" and that inaccurate and out-of-date information had been used.
The forum supports the introduction of open access land but is concerned the timetable for implementation could be delayed through lengthy appeals to the Secretary of State if the mistakes are not rectified when the provisional maps are published in June.
The Country Land and Business Association which has strong reservations about open access is also worried that landowners will have to bear the costs of the appeals process.
However the agency insists that genuine errors will be corrected and points out that the draft maps have been available on the internet and selected locations for many months. The final definitive maps for the two regions are due to be published in January.
LINKS
- Mapping Access Land in England
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Andrew Critchlow: The mapping process is 'a hash'.
