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Recording Rights of Way on Definitive Maps – Estimated 10,000 Delays Across England

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  Tuesday 28 February 2023 is the fortieth anniversary of the commencement of Part III of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, legislation forged to improve the efficiency of the ground-breaking definitive map legislation introduced by the post war Attlee Government. The ambition of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 was to correctly record all rights of way on a "Definitive Map" with details of each recorded in an accompanying statement and to provide for it to be reviewed on a five yearly basis.    The 1949 Act and its 1981 successor is a project of immense public value in providing certainty about the recording of public rights.  In practical terms it also removes the settlement of disputes about the existence of rights of ways from prohibitively expensive court cases to a quasi-judicial process overseen in the first instance by local authorities.    The reforms introduced by the 1981 Act were developed in the face of a backl...
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Rights of Way Decisions Published January 2023

The first batch of Rights of Way decisions was published this week on a new webpage by the Planning Inspectorate.  Rights of Way order information: Decisions and maps published in 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 10 decisions in total 8 relating to modification order applications and 2 for diversions. Average time from the Council making the order to the decision was 3.15 years with the longest being 5.43 years and the shortest being 2.29 years. And don't forget the Inspector's decisions rarely report the length of delay between application and the order being made. There is clearly some national work that needs to be done to make sure that once authorities have considered ways to resolve objections locally orders are referred to the Secretary of State with weeks. We also need to expose those dilatory and inefficient authorities who simply can't be bothered to refer objected orders to the Secretary of State.  We also need to hold the Planning Inspectorate to account for delays in...
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 Rights of Way Decisions by Planning Inspectorate 2022 The Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the final arbiter of decisions to modify the official record of rights of way known as the Definitive Map and Statement. Decisions are delegated to the Planning Inspectorate and all objected orders should be referred to them for confirmation. In the 2022 calendar year 62 final decisions have been published of which 17 were refused with 45  being confirmed, sometimes with minor amendments. There were also 12 "interim decisions" where the inspector concluded that the order should be confirmed but the proposed modification meant it required further advertisement - this usually occurs where the proposal is for a different status, perhaps finding that the route should be recorded as a Restricted Byway rather than a bridleway or perhaps evidence only supports  footpath.  The process often feels frustratingly slow and I know of examples of cases ...
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