Reclaiming Lost Bridleways - Anybody Done It?

TGM

TGM

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Just wondered whether anyone on here has been involved in an attempt to reclaim a 'lost' or unrecorded bridleway - whether successfully or otherwise.

We have identified such a path in our area and the council have encouraged us to submit a claim under section 53 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981.

Would love to hear of other people's experiences and also get some idea of the time frame from submitting a claim to a final decision.
 
My mum is part of a local bridleways group, and they've had some success with reclaiming rights of way.

It depends on ownership of land, and council bods how long it can take - from a few months to 5 years and counting in some cases. If the council are encouraging you, then that's promising for a quicker resolution.

I've filled in some evidence forms for the court cases to say that the routes were used by horses over 10 years ago.

Good luck with it.
 
Thanks Fairhill - that's quite encouraging! I think there are only two landowners involved - one is in full agreement with the proposed upgrade but the other one will almost certainly be very opposed to it
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That's where your evidence forms and lots of persistence will pay off!
We've claimed some paths, and the owner has still made it very difficult to ride though - one has turned the path into a swamp rather than have riders going through his land!

There is a lot of info on claiming bridleways on the BHS website - there might be some useful leaflets, or a local group you could contact for extra help.

http://www.bhs.org.uk/Content/Acs-Home.asp
 
Thanks Fairhill. I have forwarded the info on it to our local bridleways group but heard nothing back yet. Have also left a message for our regional BHS bridleways officer so hopefully she will ring me back.

I've had a look at the BHS stuff and it is not the clearest!

I actually found the Ramblers Association site better, although it doesn't deal with bridleways specifically.

If anyone is interested the link is:

http://www.ramblers.org.uk/footpaths/action/claimindex.html
 
Can't tell you that much as i'm not exactly sure what is happenening at the moment, but a lady on our yard is a memebr of a bridleways association, there is a fantastic path/route that was formally once a bridleway, apparentlt you have to have prrof that it has been ridden on in the past 20 years or something like that? I will find out more!
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[ QUOTE ]
apparentlt you have to have prrof that it has been ridden on in the past 20 years or something like that? I will find out more!
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[/ QUOTE ] Yup - one way to reclaim a bridleway is to prove 20 years of uninterrupted use prior to the date that access was prevented. The other way is to prove documentary evidence (ie maps) that path was originally a bridleway. We are hoping to prove both!

If you do have any more info on your local situation I would be most interested
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If one of the landowner is in agreement then get him to dedicate his part of the route as a public bridleway as soon as possible.

To claim the rest of the route you will need to get user evidence of people that have used it as a bridleway and then also historic evidence. Historic evidence is obtained by looking at the old maps of the area and also of the old enclosure orders. The old maps are kept at your local County Hall and some may be kept at Kew etc.

Hope this helps.

If you require any further clariiffication then simple email me on peter.natt@btinternet.com.
 
Thanks Peter - I was hoping you would see this
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. Unfortunately the friendly landowner only owns a few hundred yards of it, the 'unfriendly one' owns the majority
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. We have already found a couple of people to give user evidence and are actively searching for more. We are going to head off to the county archives to look at the old maps - we suspect it might be on the old definitive maps as two separate individuals recall there used to be a bridleway sign on it.

My main worry if that the landowner has at some point in the past got an official order to downgrade it to a public footpath - don't know whether that would stop us successfully claiming it
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As hard as it might be I think you need to try really hard to get the unfriendly land owner looking at it a bit positively. Even if you get approval to re-open the bridleway, it maybe very difficult using it. (eg if they put up obstacles, gates, livestock, plough it up, shout at you using it etc!)
 
We did! There was a bridleway that ran through someones garden (well it wasn't their garden until they stuck a locked gate across it and turned a field into lawn!)

My mum tried every which way to get the council to take action but nothing happened and time was running out as if they are unused for a certain length of time the right is lost. Sorry not sure on details I was only about 14.

My mum rounded up a load of horse riders and the BHS Bridleways officer and someone with a bolt cutter and we went and rode the bridle path through this chaps garden. He was not best pleased and came out of his house in a towel with a shotgun!

Needless to say once we had ridden the path we beat a hasty retreat but the event is documented and he was unable to claim that it was an unused path. I understand eventually it was rerouted round the edge of his property.

Happy days
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Even if the friendly landowner only owns a few yards of it get him to dedicate his bit first.

Get you evidence and historical research done and you are away.

Once it is on the definitive map if the uncooperative land owner plays up he can be easily sorted out using the courts.

Any further advice you need get back to me.

Peter Natt
 
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