Bridleway responsibilities

[Nudibranch]

Who is responsible for the upkeep of gates on bridleways? Having checked the BHS website it looks like issues should be reported to the local highways (i.e. council), is that correct?

We are very lucky in having a lot of routes but in the last week I have totted up 6 gates within a 2 mile radius of my house which are in a dreadful state. 2 are virtually unusable.

The two local landowners, despite being very wealthy, have no interest in repairing them. Baler twine seems to be the "repair" of choice and nobody else seems to mind having to dismount every time or having avoid a particular route altogether!

I was thinking of logging each gate's OS grid reference and then reporting to local highways, would that be right?

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

That would be fine although I would send it direct to the councils rights of way officer.

 

[PeterNatt]

It is the landowners responsibility to ensure that all gates can be opened and closed easily. If they can not be opened or closed easily then under 'Rights of Way' law the gates become an obstruction and this is an offence. Contact the senior rights of way officer at your local County Council and explain the problem as well as a map showing the precise location of the gates concerned. They will send out a rights of way officer to check them and will then advise the landowner concerned of their reponsibility in the matter. If the landowner fails to replace or repair the gates within the specified time limit then the rights of way department can get the work done and charge it back to the landowner concerned.
Peter Natt BHS Bridleway Officer North Hertfordshire

 

[PeterNatt]

p.s. a marked map, grid references and a photo of each gate would be excellent.

 

[Spotsrock]

Wow great reply. Round us they all have massive logs across each end which we can't always squeeze round and are so rutted by bikes and quads they're almost unpassable. Which is a real shame as the off roaders are lovely and we all get on quite well together if only there was some responsibility or action to fix the damage the wheeled users do. Without it we'll all have to stop using the bridleways. :-( given the disrepair of the roads in lincolnshire with massive potholes in every carriageway round us, even in town, I can't see leveling the viking way becoming priority anytime soon!