ONE of Scotland's richest men has been accused of breaking the spirit of Scotland's 'right to roam' law by closing the gates of his country park to walkers and joggers unless they pay at least £10.

The Duke of Buccleuch, the UK's largest private landowner, has announced that, from March 21, the gates to the park will be shut overnight from 7pm to 7am with access restricted to those who have paid the annual fee for a pass – £10 for adults, £20 for dog-walkers and £20 for a family.

The estate said the move was “to improve safety and security” after a spate of antisocial behaviour and petty vandalism.

He has already installed CCTV, electric controls on the main gate, and there have been moves to restrict access at other entrances.

The access arrangements are being brought in as the park prepares to open its multi-million pound redevelopment, including a new adventure playground together with cafés, restaurants and shops.

A £1 charge for one-off visitors will be maintained alongside an annual Friends of Dalkeith Country Park pass card for regular users starting at £10.

Pedestrian users will be able to gain access at all hours by purchasing the annual pass card.

Dalkeith Country Park is one of the duke's five major country estates, four of them in Scotland and one in England, covering a total of over 240,000 acres. It is the site of Dalkeith Palace, built in 1702 and used by Bonnie Prince Charlie during the Jacobite Rebellion in 1745.

Midlothian Council said it is believed the duke is complying with the law as the estate previously charged for access in the summer from 10am to 4pm.

The Land Reform Act (Scotland) 2003, says a landowner cannot take action to prevent or deter someone exercising access rights.

But a council spokesman said a landowner would be allowed to charge for entry if they had already been charging for 90 days each year before the act came into force. Dalkeith Country Park had been doing this.

"It is now entitled to charge for entry," said a spokeswoman.

Helen Todd, campaigns and policy manager at Ramblers Scotland, the walkers' campaign group said there was "disappointment" and " confusion" over the charging.

"It does go against the spirit of legislation. We are all trying to get people to be more active and there's this great area to go for a walk, and it's a shame it is being restricted," she said.

"It is a disappointment because it is so close to a big centre of population and it is an area locals would want to go to in the evening as well, especially as evenings are getting lighter."

Estate manager Ed Morris said there was a "long tradition" of charging a small fee for access to the park.

"It is a requirement of the Land Reform Act 2003 that we continue to levy a small charge for access in order to close the park gates at night. The park is still accessible 24 hours, all year round, by use of the pass card. We are in the process of building a multi-million pound new development, and it is natural that we should wish to ensure the site is safe and secure at night.

“The charge applies to all people within the park, regardless of the entrance used. We will be introducing swipe card gates for pedestrians at the East Lothian entrances in the coming months.”

The annual Friends of Dalkeith Country Park pass card will enable card holders to enter the park at any time via a swipe card reader, he said.

He added: "Of course we do not wish to exclude responsible users from such a popular local attraction."

He said anyone who wished to enter the park in the evening or early morning could still do so."

"The main pedestrian access will be through the Town Gate and a card reader as well as CCTV and intercom will be operational from 21 March," he said.

"The intercom will operate during the hours which the gates are closed, so if someone needs access but does not have a card, they can easily contact our on-site security team."