This guide covers the basics you’ll need to get started in a path protection role. It explains what a public right of way is and how they are classified, who’s responsible for maintaining and recording rights of way, and the ways they can be created, diverted, or removed.
A public right of way is a linear path over which the public has a right to travel on foot, and sometimes on horseback, bicycle, in a carriage, or even in a motor vehicle. The public has the right to use these paths all year round and at any time of day or night. Public rights of way, which are also called “public paths”, are categorised into four types.
The highway authority is responsible for public rights of way. This is because a public right of way is a highway under law. Depending on what type of council structure is in your area, the highway authority will either be the unitary authority or the county council. You can find out what your highway authority is by consulting the Ramblers local authority map. Highway authorities decide how they manage their duties, and some councils decide that rights of way should be handled within the “countryside” team while others retain it within the highways team. Find out how it works at your council by asking your Ramblers colleagues or your local councillor.
Public paths have special legal protection in the form of the Definitive Map and Statement (DMS), which is meant to record every right of way in England and Wales (outside Inner London and the Isle of Scilly). The DMS is maintained by each highway authority which has a duty to continually update it as new information is found or changes to the network are made. Most local authorities now have an online version of their definitive map (just search for “[your local authority] definitive map”), but if you want to look at the official paper version you can book an appointment at their offices. Sometimes local libraries also have copies. Rights of way are given a unique reference number on the definitive map and described in the statement. It’s useful to use this unique reference when reporting or discussing problems with the highway authority. Not all rights of way are recorded on the Definitive Map Although the DMS is meant to record all the public paths, there are many reasons why they are imperfect. ● Many paths were left off the first Definitive Maps when they were drawn up in the 1950s, either because of human error, confusion, and sometimes even because the committees putting the maps together included local landowners who left the paths on their land off to prevent the public from using them. You can learn more about this through Don’t Lose Your Way, our project aiming to save the paths that have been left off the map before they are extinguished forever. ● New paths come into existence because of long use by the public. Once the new right exists, someone has to apply for it to be added to the DMS. You can read more about this on our website. ● Missing paths can be added to the DMS through a Definitive Map Modification Order.
Not all paths used by walkers are public rights of way. Examples include: ● Canal or river towpaths ● Off-road cycle paths with pedestrian access ● Paths across National Trust, Forestry Commission or Access Land ● Paths crossing public parks, commons, or open spaces. ● Permissive routes (paths where access is provided by permission of the landowner). For these paths, it’s especially important to check whether they are rights of way when dealing with any issues.
Rights of way come with special legal protection that other paths don’t have. This means that if someone wants to permanently close or divert them, they must follow a fixed procedure and there’s a chance for the Ramblers to object. We’re a statutory consultee, which means the local authority must inform us every time they propose a change.
These can be created in the following ways: ● If the landowner formally ‘dedicates’ a path for public use (this is rare). ● More commonly, if a path has been used by the public for 20 years without interference from the landowner, the law presumes that it has been dedicated under section 31 of the Highways Act 1980. ● By agreement between the landowner and the highway authority (under section 25 of the Highways Act 1980). ● By creation order made by the highway authority under section 26 of the Highways Act 1980.
Only the local highway authority or central government may close or divert a right of way, and only if certain criteria apply: ● A path can be closed if it’s no longer needed for public use under section 118 of the Highways Act 1980. ● A path can be diverted in some circumstances under section 119 of the Highways Act 1980, usually in the interest of the landowner. ● Path closures and diversions (temporary or permanent) are also allowed so that development can happen when planning permission has been granted, under section 247 or 257 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. For both closures and diversions: ● A notice of the proposed change must be placed at both ends of the path and published in a local paper. ● 28 days’ notice must be given, and any objections raised during this time must be heard by an inspector from the planning inspectorate. ● This may be at a public inquiry, a more informal hearing, or in writing if the objectors agree.
There is no prescribed legal minimum for public paths, although in some circumstances you can find out the width. ● The Definitive Statement might include information on widths. This is particularly the case if a path has been subject to a Public Path Diversion Order (see below) or has been added to the DMS recently through a Definitive Map Modification Order (see below). ● Sometimes you can tell how wide the path should be based on the physical features. If there is a hedge or a ditch, the path will run to the mid-point of the hedge or ditch. If an old fence or dry-stone wall is present, that will be the border of the path. ● If the path is across agricultural land used for crops, and the path is ploughed or planted over, there are prescribed legal minimums that must be reinstated by the farmer within 2 weeks of disturbing the surface. This is set out in section 137A of and schedule 12A to the Highways Act 1980. ● If no record of the width exists, and there are no physical features to go by, the width is that which has been used by the public. This could be as little as one meter or as wide as 6 meters. The legal width of the right of way can be wider (or sometimes narrower) than the physical path on the ground.
The Ramblers and Open Spaces Society have published a definitive guide to rights of way is called Rights of Way: A Guide to Law and Practice, currently th in its 4 edition (known affectionately as the “blue book”).