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Lost Ways
(Unrecorded Ways)
REFERENCE:
CROW Act 2000 Section
53
CROW
Act Explanatory notes
CROW Act 2000 full
2001 Countryside Agency
briefing/consultation
2001BADFA response
2001 Some further BADFA
comment
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There is a small website dealing exclusively with lost ways, especially used but
unrecorded ways:
www.unrecordedways.org.uk. A visit to it is recommended. |
There
is a cut-off date of 1 January 2026 when all footpaths and bridleways that
were in existence prior to 1949, and that are not at that date on the
definitive map, will be extinguished and have all public rights removed.
There are some classes of exceptions. But the fact that a claim
(under WCA 81) may have been made is not one of the exceptions and claims will
not prevent this extinguishment. But although the CROW Act does allow the
government, by Statutory Instrument, to except claimed paths or to extend the
cut-off date with parliamentary approval, we would be foolish to assume that
such a Statutory Instrument will actually be made.
Under the law as it stands (March 2004) all such extinguished paths
will require fresh dedications or a fresh period of uninterrupted public use to be able to
get onto the definitive map after 2026.
There does remain some lack of clarity, parliament can change the rules by
Statutory Instrument [CROW s56(2)(b)], Defra says they will but it is up to
parliament, not defra.
Even the Blue Book is unclear.
Examples of what will happen in Jan 2026 to well-used non-definitive
public paths:
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1. A farmer, who owns a field, fences off a path and there is nothing we can
do about it.
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Public path from pre 1949 to today |
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Path at Jan 1st 2026 neither legally nor physically usable |
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2. A householder, who may or may not own the land, fences off a short length
of path thus blocking it and there is nothing that we can do about
it. |
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Public path from
pre 1949 to today |
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Path at Jan 1st 2026 neither legally nor physically usable |
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In both these cases if the public walk the remainder of these paths on
2 Jan 2026 they are trespassing.
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Who will look for and claim these lost/unrecorded ways? The
Countryside Agency plans to fund some research into truly ‘lost’ ways, those
no longer in current use. It is not clear that they have considered the sort
of cases above. Their approach seem to be wholly about routes that are lost to
use as well as to the map. For instance see this
sample web page.
It is possible that about one tenth of all public paths are at
risk. And because total processing time for claims is currently over 12 years
in Hertfordshire, that gives us only about four years to get all the claims
in.
Some path user groups are trying a pilot scheme in SW Herts, with a handful of
people given maps and charged with nagging everyone to mark the map with all
routes used, especially everyday routes not yet on the map. They will have the
benefit of the Watford Fieldpath Association’s historic records from 1899 to
1908
and beyond, currently being digitised for easy access.
Volunteers are sought for recording of Lost/Unrecorded ways anywhere in south-west Herts.
Initial contact to:
Chris Beney, chris@beney.org, 01932-211113
12 Woodlands Rd., BUSHEY, WD23 2LR
and (especially for equestrian routes) Phil Wadey,
mailforpdw-badfa@yahoo.co.uk |
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