Bridleway in park, A legal issue has arisen!

[sidesaddlegirl]

Following on from my previous thread about the bridleway which runs through the park at the back of my house and the access to it (http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=524778), I received a very nice reply from the Leicestershire Public Rights of Way inspector. He did confirm that there is indeed a bridleway where I thought it was and that the council "no horse riding" sign in the park applied only to riding in the other parts of the park like the playing fields (fair enough!).

Regarding the metal horse belly height bollard (if a horse spooked, it could impale itself on it trying to squeeze through the gap between it and the metal fence) that the council installed at the bottom entrance/exit of the park (where the bridleway/footpath come out between fences) to stop "motor vehicles" from entering the park (despite the rest of the park having huge open entrance ways where cars/motorbikes could enter that way), he was going to request that the council to remove it.

Then I get en email this afternoon:

With regard to your previous report about the bollard at the Countesthorpe Road entrance to Blaby Road Park I have been in contact with Oadby and Wigston Borough Council regarding this.

Because of a legal issue that has arisen in relation to this matter, I would ask that you put your report in a letter to me so that the matter can continue to be pursued.

In the letter please give your full name, address and a contact telephone number. The letter should be signed by you.

-------

They also requested that I forward the Leicestershire Public Rights of Way inspector.

What sort of legal issue could have arisen because of a bollard? Could the council just not remove it since it's causing a dangerous obstruction or are O&W Borough Council just playing awkward buggers and don't want to take it out?

Strange!!

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

I suspect the latter, they are playing hardball citing damage by eg motorcycles no doubt and he is now having to come up with supporting complaints about the issues the bollards are causing to legitimate users.

Altho the bollards were smaller we had the same issue in a park near us (at old house) - there too, the bollards were pointless as the fencing round the park was like a swiss cheese so as soon as the bollards were up the grass was all trashed as they just cut the wire and got in that way....so the ONLY people affected by the bollards were horseriders.

I would def provide the letter and ones from anyone else you know who might ever have ridden there. The case will be esp strong if the bollards are at an entrance/exit close to a road so if a horse spooks you could be dumped into the live traffic....

 

[jaquelin]

I suspect the bureaucrats are arguing over who should pay for removal, so they need to have your complaint in writing. Unfortunately, it is rarely a matter of someone from the council popping down & removing it. It also could be that on some maps it is shown asa bridle way & on others not, so it may be that the council's legal dept has to confirm this. Hope you get this sorted sooner rather than later.

 

[indie999]

Do what they ask but ask for clarification of the LEGAL ISSUE? Our council as I discovered the ROWs guy just made it up. It was talking to another rider who had a separate issue and got told a right porker. So ask.

I also guess they dont want to pay as they have no money.

 

[sidesaddlegirl]

I will definitely write a letter and ask for clarification, it's intriguing me as to what the issue could be!

The bollards are pretty useless there as the entrance way wouldn't be big enough to get a car through without the bollard (although a lorry could get into the park with the gaping ungated DRIVEWAY into the park!) and kids on mopeds can easily get through with a bollard. It's like lachlanandmarcus said, the ONLY people being affected by the bollards are the horse riders. I have a sneaking suspicion that the council doesn't really want horse riders in the park as the bridleway isn't even marked with one of those little signs as one, maybe that is why they put it there.

 

[Aoibhin]

its a crafty way of downgrading bridleways, loose the signage so it doesnt get used & then when its not used its downgraded due to lack of use.

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

useful to look at councils local plan re: environment and leisure; quite often there are fine words in them about horseriders as vulnerable road users and intentions to maintain and improve safe off road routes: usually published at the same time as they use the CROW Act which was meant to improve access to deny access to established routes to horseriders because they say CROW overrides everything else and CROW catered solely for walkers and cyclists and specifically excluded horseriders.

eg in Herts the council are trying to close the Alban Way disused railway multi user trail to horseriders despite decades of peaceful and non problematic use....:-((((((((((

make your council live up to their local plan commitments and shame them into removing the obstacles and signing the routes horses are allowed to use.....

 

[Purple Duck]

I would suspect that Council's Legal team have found something... Most probably something that Council should not have done in the first place...

umm!!

 

[sidesaddlegirl]

I would suspect that Council's Legal team have found something... Most probably something that Council should not have done in the first place...

umm!!

Well, funny you should say that!

The newly built college seems to have been built on part of the bridleway, they knocked down 100 year old oak trees which lined the bridleway when building the college (which is now a place where kids hang out smoke and litter everywhere).

Also O&W Borough council have created a whole new cycle and pedestrian footpath which just happens to be right at the bottom of the park where the bollard entrance is. The cycle path is great as I use it and when they were building it, I had hoped that they would include horse riders on it as that part of the road is quite dangerous as people speed over 2 hump back bridges and around a blind corner when coming down from the countryside 60 speed limit to the 30 or accelerate to get to the national speed limit going the other way.

So there could be two cock ups that my local council have made and the ROW inspector has caught!!

 

[sidesaddlegirl]

useful to look at councils local plan re: environment and leisure; quite often there are fine words in them about horseriders as vulnerable road users and intentions to maintain and improve safe off road routes: usually published at the same time as they use the CROW Act which was meant to improve access to deny access to established routes to horseriders because they say CROW overrides everything else and CROW catered solely for walkers and cyclists and specifically excluded horseriders.

eg in Herts the council are trying to close the Alban Way disused railway multi user trail to horseriders despite decades of peaceful and non problematic use....:-((((((((((

make your council live up to their local plan commitments and shame them into removing the obstacles and signing the routes horses are allowed to use.....

I will do this. I have to go pay my council tax this week so I will bring it up when I go (that and stock up on my share of recycling bags!). LOL, I bet the people at the council offices run when they see me coming!

 

[dieseldog]

If I was you I would contact the BHS Bridleways rep for your area - they can probably give you a template letter or advise you what to write. Good Luck!

 

[MerrySherryRider]

If its the same ROW officer that was there a few years ago, he's excellent. I had an issue with the bridlepath running through Blaby cemetry being re routed and surfaced with SMA. It was so slippery the horses couldn't stay upright on it. Within 4 days the ROW officer had got it covered with a grippy surface although the council was claiming they couldn't afford it.
I did ask the rather abrupt lady at the council if their budget covered being sued as they had been alerted to a potential hazard caused by them, which apparently another local horse rider had also highlighted.

O&W council is trying it on, mention the cost of potential litigation if someone or a horse is injured and reply to the ROW officer, he has a tough job with some of these councillors.

 

[sidesaddlegirl]

Good idea dieseldog, I will do that!!

horserider, isn't the bridleway through the cemetary still going to be moved when they build those stupid over-priced houses that Blaby council is so hellbent on letting developers build? Bah, I have no patience for councils!! I bet it is the same ROW inspector.

 

[PeterNatt]

I can see absolutely no reason why they need an additional letter.
Under rights of way legislation the metal barrier on a bridleway is an 'obstruction' and should be removed immediately. If they fail to do so then contact your rights of way enforcement officer.
When you write to them do it by 'Royal Mail Special Delivery' so that there is no doubt that they have received your letter.

 

[MerrySherryRider]

Good idea dieseldog, I will do that!!

horserider, isn't the bridleway through the cemetary still going to be moved when they build those stupid over-priced houses that Blaby council is so hellbent on letting developers build? Bah, I have no patience for councils!! I bet it is the same ROW inspector.

I don't live around there anymore but there was a local group of riders who managed to get quite a few improvements made around there for safer hacking.

Didn't know they were building houses, thats such a shame, the area is so popular with families walking and its quiet enough to ride safely on the lanes there.

 

[sidesaddlegirl]

I can see absolutely no reason why they need an additional letter.
Under rights of way legislation the metal barrier on a bridleway is an 'obstruction' and should be removed immediately. If they fail to do so then contact your rights of way enforcement officer.
When you write to them do it by 'Royal Mail Special Delivery' so that there is no doubt that they have received your letter.

This is the ROW officer who told me that a legal issue had arisen with the O&W council when he contacted them regarding the bollard so i guess he opened up a can of worms with my council.

 

[Paris1]

A garage has been built over a brudleway making it a footpath as it is simply too narrow for a pony to fit. It has been there too long so se lost a bridleway as noone complained.
Following an accident, and communications with the council, it transpired a bridleway entrance must be set back ( can't remember exactly) three metres from the road and be I think three metres wide. Is find out the actual dimentions and what they should be and use this as well as the clear danger presented by the bollard.

 

[Welly]

I would write a letter to the council with your concerns and take a photo of you and your horse alongside the bollard; I would also say you are sending a copy of the letter to the BHS. To let them know that should anything happen to you or your horse they had been made aware of the problem. I think that if they have been made aware of a problem and have done nothing about it they are legally liable. More people need to get involved with these issues. I also think that ALL new cycle ways should be considered for horse users by law. Best of luck keep us informed.

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

Recently the government minister for this area has written in favour of horseriders being allowed to use cycle paths although at present Highway code says they should not and as posted above, in some places councils are trying to rely on CROW act to block horseriders from multi user tracks despite no evidence of the use causing any issues to other users and having been the case for decades.

"The British Horse Society warmly welcomes the support for the use of cycle routes by horse riders offered by Richard Benyon MP, Minister for Natural Environment and Fisheries. Reinforcing a point frequently made by the BHS, the Minister makes clear that "Past research has shown that user conflict on shared use routes is actually infrequent but exaggerated, and that additional maintenance cost to ensure appropriate surfacing is minimal."

Mr Benyon urges all local authorities to allow horse riders to use cycle trails, routes and any other ways where it is in their power to do so, and to encourage that permission or dedication to happen where it is not in their power. In the Government's view: "Unless there are good and specific reasons not to expressly allow horse riders to use such routes, local authorities should take steps to accommodate them. Local authorities should be making the most of their off-road networks through integration of use. Multi user routes have been shown to be readily adopted and well appreciated by local people. Where they are done well they bolster community cohesion and create a better understanding between users."

Mark Weston, BHS Director of Access, Safety and Welfare said: "This is something for which the BHS has been campaigning for years and the Minister’s request that all local authorities allow horse riders to use these routes is most welcome."


Read more: http://ihdg.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=gh11&thread=116023&page=1#ixzz1thLJJthd"

worth quoting to your councils. R Benyon has actually written to St Albans council in respect of the Alban Way plans, he has been very supportive and helpful.

 

[sidesaddlegirl]

Thanks guys, this is all good info! I really want this bridleway sorted out as a lot of the green spaces where we used to ride, are being built on. There seems to be a house building surge in are area (despite no one actually buying). It's only a little bridleway through the park but it's a nice loop if you ride up my street and then go back down through the park as it avoids the busy main road at the top of my street. It would be a shame to lose it.

I can DEFINITELY say that the bridleway exit of the park is NOT set 3m back from the road or is 3m wide. Infact, there is a hedge at the right side of you which marks the boundary between the park and the busy driveway where lorries turn into to the Jacobs biscuit factory. You come straight out onto the pavement where the bike path is.

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

Thanks guys, this is all good info! I really want this bridleway sorted out as a lot of the green spaces where we used to ride, are being built on. There seems to be a house building surge in are area (despite no one actually buying). It's only a little bridleway through the park but it's a nice loop if you ride up my street and then go back down through the park as it avoids the busy main road at the top of my street. It would be a shame to lose it.

I can DEFINITELY say that the bridleway exit of the park is NOT set 3m back from the road or is 3m wide. Infact, there is a hedge at the right side of you which marks the boundary between the park and the busy driveway where lorries turn into to the Jacobs biscuit factory. You come straight out onto the pavement where the bike path is.

The only proviso on this is that a lot of parks are not bridleways in the legal sense so doooo be 101% sure of the legal status before demanding the 3metre bit otherwise if it is within the power of the park management to ban horses then they can sometimes choose to do that instead, citing 'unsafe for horses to use' instead of making the improvement.....:-O

 

[sywell]

The CROW Acts Section 130 a to 130 c would apply having complained to your highway authority they must serve notice for the removal and if you are not satisfied you must give them notice that you will apply to the magistrates court . The court would need to be shown that the obstruction significantly interferes with the exercise of of public rights of way. ROW Riddall/Trevelyan 3rd Edition page 269

 

[muff747]

Doesn't your council hold surgeries and forums for RoW users? I have been attending ours for over 12 years now and have managed to get the riders point of view across in a relaxed way. It was a bit "spikey" at first but now we get along really well with all the ramblers and cyclists and they even suggest new bw to us!
Sidesaddlegirl, if you know of a route on some development land that could help take riders off the road, ask your RoW dept to apply for some money from the Sect 106 agreement made when planning was/is granted, to help create a new bw. I assume most planning depts will take advantage of this section of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 where they can apply restrictions or obligations on the developers at the time of granting the application.
See here http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=71631
I am campaigning in my area for part of an old bridle road next to some land earmarked for building to be reopened and used to create a new b/w which not only will help riders get off road and create circular routes but will also enable school children who will live in the new houses to get to the local school and cyclist and walkers to enjoy the countryside.