In Buckinghamshire, the Bourne End Residents Association contacted the Ramblers when access to a much-used old railway was denied by a landowner. Ramblers staff gave advice about getting the path added to the definitive map, appealing to the Secretary of State when the application was refused, and then presenting the case at inquiry when the appeal was allowed. In the end the Secretary of State confirmed the existence of the path. Jim Penfold, of the Residents Association, said: “We are delighted to have won this vital path which, when joined to other dedicated footpaths, links the two villages of Bourne End and Wooburn, enabling people to walk safely between them, away from the roads. We are especially grateful to the Ramblers’ for its invaluable legal and technical advice on claiming paths.”
In Essex, a well-used public footpath in Great Braxted had been used for many years until new residents of a property on it erected ‘no right of way’ signs. Investigation shows that in the 1950s the County Council accidentally deleted the path (mistaking it for an ordinary road) from the draft definitive map. Nobody noticed, and nobody minded, since nobody was stopped from using it – until now, when the new owners are preventing use on the misunderstanding that no right of way exists. Essex Ramblers are lobbying the County Council to set the definitive map procedures in motion for the injustice to be righted.
In West Sussex, Ramblers around Lindfield have collected close on 100 evidence forms showing that paths on an area threatened by development have been used for very many years without challenge, and should be recognised as public rights of way through deemed dedication. Central office has set the definitive map procedures in operation, in the hope that routes which would make an excellent circular walk from the village to the neighbouring countryside will be deemed public.
Vixen Tor, one of Dartmoor’s most visited and breathtaking natural features, today sits behind barbed wire fences and has “Keep Out” painted in large letters on its majestic stone sides after the present owners closed the Tor to the public in 2003 after more than thirty years of open access. After failing to restore public access via the Countryside and Rights of Way Act, the Ramblers has worked with the British Mountaineering Council and local climbers’ pressure groups to claim four public rights of way to the Tor from surrounding access land. Earlier this year Devon Country Council accepted two of these but we expect the landowner to appeal and a full public inquiry to be held before the Tor can be once again be accessed by walkers.
In Cornwall, local Ramblers have made an application for a short stretch of path along the seawall at St. Antony, a hamlet to the west of Saltash. There is good documented evidence for the path, including a conveyance which appears to show the path and describes it as a footpath with public rights. Witness evidence is contradictory but with central office help to rebut the landowner's case we are optimistic that Cornwall Council will make the order to add the path to the definitive map.
In Leicestershire, an ancient footpath, partly on the line of the Fosse Way, will soon be open to the public again thanks to a 9 year campaign by local residents, Narborough Parish Council and the Ramblers. The Leicester footpath, which had been used for centuries, was closed in 1995 when the owners of the land, Alliance & Leicester, locked gates across the path denying the public access. Ramblers member, Mary Young, gathered user evidence to show the path had been used by the public for 20 years. Leicestershire County Council delayed making the Order for many years,it was finally made in 2008 after pressure from Ramblers staff and volunteers. However, owners of the neighbouring golf course objected to the path being opened and the decision was referred to the Secretary of State. Thanks to support from experienced Ramblers volunteers, a strong case was presented and the Order was confirmed in May 2009. This ancient path would have been lost forever were it not for the efforts of local campaigners and the experience of the Ramblers.
In Derbyshire, Willington Parish Council and residents have been trying to claim a path along the River Trent for a number of years, with Derbyshire County Council prevaricating throughout. An order was made and confirmed but was lost on appeal because of an interpretation of the law, subsequently shown to be wrong by the Ramblers action in the House of Lords. Staff at central office are helping local volunteers to try to get the county council to make a new order to add this valuable path to the definitive map.
In Staffordshire, Ramblers volunteers are working to get a path recorded across the golf course in Trentham. The path is shown on the OS map as existing ‘on the ground’, but is not officially recorded and protected in law. The original claim for the path, submitted many years ago, was lost by the city council, but this did not deter the original applicant, who resubmitted the claim and evidence. Discussions have been held with the golf course and we await further action from the city council.
In Northamptonshire, Ramblers at Yardley Chase are campaigning for public access to this estate. There appears to have been public access before it was taken over by the Ministry of Defence. Since it reverted to private ownership, access has not been allowed, except by payment. It is hoped that by research of historical documents and assiduous lobbying, access will be restored.
At Twelve Quays in the Wirral the campaign continues to get a path recorded at the dock front, on land owned by Mersey Docks and Harbour Company. Years of research, lobbying, and public campaigning, led by local volunteers with support from central office, have got us to the stage where we are waiting for deeds of dedication to be signed by Wirral MBC and Mersey Docks and Harbour Company. There remains a dispute over the quality of the newly constructed paths and the highway authority is reluctant to take on liability for potentially expensive maintenance work. The Ramblers is determined to see the case through to the finish.
At Lockwood in Redcar and Cleveland the Ramblers is continuing to work for the addition of a bridleway to the definitive map at Lockwood. This case has a complex history, with a planning inspector refusing to confirm the original order on the basis of a questionable interpretation of the House of Lords opinions in the Dorset case. The Ramblers has taken counsel’s opinion and staff will be supporting volunteers when the case comes before a public inquiry again in October.
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