Rydale council as misleading or incorrect information about ragwort on its website. It says " Seeds from the plants also spread far and wide causing the ragwort to take root and flourish throughout the district something which is an offence under the Weed Act 1959.
and
" The Ragwort Control Act became law in 2004 and landowners now have a legal obligation to remove the weed or face a fine "

None of these statements is correct.
Ragwort seeds do not normally spread long distances. See Ragwort seed dispersal and the various laws do not place any automatic legal obligation for control on anyone. See Ragwort law