The British Driving Society
Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire & Hertfordshire Area

Rights of Way

Welcome to the launch of the Rights of Way section of the Beds, Bucks and Herts Website. The aim is to provide both the latest items of interest as well as on going information for reference.

Your input will be appreciated as the subject covers a large area and individuals will know what is going on locally. Please call me or send your questions as the need arises.

We are pleased to announce the launch of the Bridleways online shop, just in time for Christmas! You can purchase Ordnance Survey maps, Routemaps to accompany the routes we have developed and useful products associated with pleasure riding. The shop is fully integrated within the main Bridleways website, so if you are looking for a particular route you can download the Routecard instructions and then order an accompanying map as well. If there are any products that you would like to see available through our shop, please contact us and we will see what we can do for you! To access the shop please follow the link http://www.bridleways.co.uk/s/ 

Update 9th November 2007

Things are starting to happen regarding the Rights of Way for horse carriage drivers.

Roads Used as Public Paths (RUPP) are now renamed as Restricted Byways (RB) - see below for definition, but sadly some are being downgraded to bridleways (BW). On the other hand, some Byways Open to All Traffic (BOAT) are being made RBs, where motorised vehicles will no longer be allowed on them, but carriage drivers will, as they are non-motorised.

Discrepancies and anomalies are being unravelled on the Ordnance Survey definitive maps, and claims of old carriage routes are coming to light. It is a long and slow process, where in most instances, there is a dispute between landowners and horse riders and carriage drivers, and an Enquiry is called, and a judgement made by the Inspectorate.

After checking routes designated for upgrading, or downgrading, and writing reports to the various County Council Rights of Way departments, there are some positive results coming through. The hardest part is identifying users in an area which is unknown to me, and there is an Order that has been passed confirming a BOAT or RB. The easiest way is to put the details on the BDS Beds, Bucks & Herts website, http://bedsbh.britishdrivingsociety.co.uk/index.htm , so please check whenever you can. If one applies to a route that you would, or could drive on, please contact me if you need more information - kath@theworrells.co.uk . Or 01442 258602.

Just to clarify - the definition of a BOAT in Section 66 Wildlife and Countryside Act 81 is: 'a highway over which the public have a right of way for vehicular and other kinds of traffic, but is used by the public mainly for the purpose of which footpaths and bridleways are so used', and an RB in Section 48 Wildlife and Countryside Act 2000 is: 'a byway that carries the right of way on foot, on horseback or leading a horse, and for vehicles other than mechanically propelled vehicles', which includes horse driven carriages.

Update 8th May 2007 - Kath Worrell BDS R o W Officer - Herts.

The BDS's Rights of Way Co-ordinator, Margaret Pawson, had good news to report to the BDS AGM. After five and a half years, and many hours of meetings with DEFRA, Restricted Byways (RB) became a legal entity from May 1st 2006.

"We can now encourage local councils to upgrade bridleways into Restricted Byways for our use. Lobbying through your Local Access Forum, which every County Council is obliged to have, is the way to further improvements," said Margaret.

Lobbying is also important to ensure existing RUPPs are re-designated as Restricted Byways, as provided for in the Act. Both of these will raise issues of restricting and preventing access by motorised vehicles, and co-operation between carriage drivers and landowners will be paramount if our driving network is to be expanded. Workable solutions for carriage driving access are required and compromises between all parties will be essential.

Next steps? Work with your Local Access Forum - contact your county council for the contact points.

Update 20th May 2006 - Kath Worrell BDS R o W Officer - Herts.

All counties are tasked by Government to produce a Rights of Way Improvement Plan. The Herts draft is due by end of 2004 to go out for consultation, public exhibitions and focus group discussion. Until then, we don't know if horse driving is included.

Ask you county what plans they have and ask to see a copy when it is available for comment on horse driving content.

It is not quite accurate to say they are new. They are in fact any existing RUPP (Road Used as a Public Path) which will be designated as a Restricted Byway. At present a RUPP can be used by any vehicle, motorised or not. An RB can only be used by non motorised vehicles - i.e. horse driven vehicles, prams, cyclists, etc. How the authorities can police this or physically restrict cars, motor bikes, etc will be interesting. One mechanism which might help will be the Kent Gap and should be offered as one solution for local authorities.

County Councils have additional resources for the Countryside Rights of Way Act 2000, some of which should be spent on the new RBs (signs, clearance, surface works, access devices, etc.).

The redesignation of RUPPs to RBs is delayed by legislation which is planned for enactment before the end of 2004 - watch this space.

Local Access Forums. 

These are a product of the recent legislation on the Right to Roam. Counties have been instructed to set them up by Government and funding has been provided for this from central government sources.

Their meetings have to be held in public who can also ask questions. Local Access Form (LAF) members will include elected councillors, representatives from the County Council and District Councils, and individuals with particular expertise and knowledge about countryside access. Individual members are expected to be appointed to represent fields of interest rather than a particular organisation. They have to demonstrate the ability to work together as a team. A balance of people is needed to represent: Users of the new rights of access, Owners and occupiers of access land or land crossed by RoW, Other relevant interests - i.e. tourism, sport, active recreation, education, transport, etc.

One key piece of work for the LAF is the Rights of Way Improvement Plan for their specific county. Other subjects may include: Access Strategy Obstructions on public RoW Definitive Map discussion Permissive Agreements and so on.

Ask your County Council about their LAF, who are their members, when and where do they meet, and what is on their agenda. If possible, attend their meetings and put the case for driving horses.  

Also view the following links -

http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/bcc/content/index.jsp?contentid=-45621937

http://www.hertsdirect.org/yrccouncil/hcc/env/enjoy/walk/localaccessforum/

http://www.bedfordshire.gov.uk/ … look for leisure & tourism

Public Rights of Way are recorded on the Definitive Map and Statement. These maps are managed by the relevant County Council. This information is then provided to the Ordnance Survey who use it to show public RoW on their maps. There may be other RoW which are not shown and it is possible to have these added to the Definitive Map. All County Councils will have a process for this and will be called 'Modification Order Package' or something similar.

Ask your County Council for their package.

What it important, is that the Definitive Maps are being updated as part of the Right to Roam legislation. Part of this exercise is to have an up to date statement on the existing Rights of Way. Some people may ask for Modification Orders to a RoW deleted. This may be a RoW which driven horses use at present - e.g. Road Used as a Public Path (RUPP), Byway Open to All Traffic (BOAT), green lanes and unclassified county roads. Equally, people may ask for a Modification Order to update an existing Footpath (FP) or Bridleway (BW) or to create new RoW. This could be useful to create circular routes for users. This work has to be completed by 2026, which a long way into the future. Remember that all Modification Orders take a long time to be approved or rejected, particularly if a Public Enquiry has to take place, as they often do.

All horse drivers should think about their local area and see if they can constructively put a case for upgraded and new routes to open access, particularly off road and safe routes. Plus watch out for proposed closure or downgrading of routes. In both cases seek the help of your County Council RoW unit and ask to be on their mailing list.

HCC made the above Order under Section 53 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It was advertised on 28th October 2004 and a period of 6 weeks for objections.

Essentially the Modification Order proposes to create/add a Byway Open to All Traffic (BOAT) from point A to point G on the map. This could be very useful to horse drivers and horse riders. Full details can be requested from Miss Hayley Oakes, Herts County Council, 01992 556185. Alternatively contact Kath Worrell who has a copy of the complete package and who will be grateful for supporting comments before the closing date.

Click on map to see larger version

The government has delayed this again and the latest was 'we need to find time in 2005 to enact the legislation'. I guess we know what that means with an election in the offing. We can only lobby and hope parliament finds the time.

With Restricted Byways (RB) becoming a possibility, local authorities will be looking for a means of preventing the illegal use of them by motorised vehicles. One way of course is to gate the right of way, temporarily or permanently, but this would challenged. Another is the use of a Kent Gap, so called because Kent County Council have used them to great effect for a number of years.

What is a Kent Gap? It essentially consists of a pair of smooth concrete bollards 0.33m - 0.38m high (13" to 15") and 1.52m apart (5') plus a clear space of at least 0.6m (2') beside the bollards on one or both sides.

These bollards can be reinforced by further pairs 0.45m (18") in line with the first pair. Any remaining space between banks or fences can be filled with taller bollards. Bollards must be firmly set into the ground to discourage their removal.

Most modern carriages will be able go inside or straddle the bollards with care. A few older carriages may have a difficulty, but if it opens up a route instead of it being closed, then this is a small price to pay.

An example of one in use is shown, albeit a modified design.

Great Munden 13 regrading the RUPP as bridleway running from Dane End to Masty Road and adding a continuation to the bridleway for 45 metres to join the Haultwick to Rush Green Road. Great Munden 27 reclassifying the RUPP as a bridleway from its junction with Great Munden 13. This is generally good for horse riders but poor for carriage drivers as it is a loss of a RUPP which would have become an RB once the legislation is passed by parliament. Anyone wanting details, please contact Kath Worrell on 01442 258602 as she has the full details and maps.

You might like to know that -

Representations have been made to both Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire`s Local Access Forums in recent months, when the Area Commissioner as well as other interested members took the opportunity of going along to meet those who make up the Forums in each county and talking about carriage driving and our ideal requirements. It was not so good to note that on both occasions, most people present had not even considered that there were still horse drawn carriages using the highways and so were fascinated to learn about the British Driving Society and our rallies, shows, training days etc. This is a very important issue as we need to make sure that all Councils and associated bodies are very aware of our presence and the fact that we would appreciate specially designated `quiet roads` to drive along as well as off road tracks, preferably on circular routes. Following the evening with Beds Forum members, Mrs Christine Crouch came along to one of our `open / novice` days to experience for herself the problems encountered on the roads today. In the near future perhaps we should send an invitation to all three Forums in our area and invite them to come along to a similar day for a hands-on experience ? What do YOU think ? - can YOU help ? - Ring Kath or Linda if you can.

Kath Worrell, Tel: 01442 258602.  Fax Number: 01 442 232355.  Email: kath@theworrells.co.uk