Public Rights of Way

[crosstalk]

There used to a PROW which was useful 13 or so years ago in this town. However a housebuilder built his own house and built a brick wall over the ROW. He claims he had a deal with the district council but now is offering money to continue it.

Some are saying once it's done for a year or a day, or not appealed, it's gone forever.

Is there a time on this? We need to know soonest but the government websites are not helpful or clear. It would make a great difference for people being able to walk through it now our town has gone from 11000 to 17000 and with the increasing age of people accessing a surgery, and schoolchildren walking through and avoiding a major road.

Was it a prow or permissive footpath? A prow can be diverted by consultation and agreement with council. There should be a designated officer at the council to look into it.

You need to contact your local authority Footpaths Officer.

If it is a public right of way there is no time limit regarding its closure so "once it's done for a year or a day, or not appealed, it's gone forever" is not correct. You need to contact the PROW department at your County Council. If you want anymore help contact the Open Spaces Society or provide more details so I can investigate.

@crosstalk A county council (or similar highway authority) is expected to maintain a definitive map of rights of way. These might be footpaths and bridleways. They are numbered. Your highway authority must make the map available for inspection if it’s not on line. Do go and have a look at it. Is the Footpath on the map or not? If not, it has been extinguished legally. If it’s there (and possibly diverted) speak to the footpath rights of way officer to ascertain what is going on. It’s highly likely they will know the history of the path and it’s status.

There is no such thing as a deal with the highways authority. You have to go through a process to divert or extinguish a right of way. If one has a wall across it, has it been legally diverted or extinguished? What about the two ends that are terminated by a wall? Did no one wonder if it was legal at an earlier stage?

NO owner has the right to stop up a footpath on the definitive map. So was it ever on the map? Was it being used against the wishes of the owner. Trespass? Again the highways footpath officer should know the history and advise. I suggest you find out all the relevant info and get the footpath officer to explain what has happened. Sometimes people use a “path” they create for themselves. A landowner can stop this. A year doesn’t come into anything as far as I know.

@histman Once a footpath is extinguished and removed from the Definitive Map - it has gone! Forever. I know. I’ve been through this process. No appeal. There might be a public inquiry at the time extinguishment is applied for.

Hi, just to clarify. The district council gave leave to the owner of a house to use the overgrown path for a garden under a licence with a three month stop clause either side. No one seems to have objected if they knew, since the ROW was then overgrown and only part of the ROW leading up to the houseowner's part was used, mostly for blackberrying. Beyond the now walled off garden the ROW is used.

Sorry, this doesn't make sense. District Councils are not responsible for Public Rights of Way; it's County Councils or Unitary bodies that do so. A District Council could not have leased out part of a PROW if it was on the definitive map. It strikes me that this is not a public path but you need to contact your County Council to check if you are unable tell us where this is.

@histman Yes agreed. It’s the Highways Authority.

@crosstalk Of course the District Council could be the landowner. However if it is a public right of way it will be on the definitive map. If it’s not, it’s not a public right of way. Often there is a history behind footpaths being closed or diverted. However you do find people claiming a path is a public right of way when it never was. So check the Definitive Map.