Dismay over scrapping of recording ‘lost’ footpaths deadline
© Tim Scrivener Landowners have slammed a decision to remove the cut-off date for adding historic unrecorded footpaths in England to the Definitive Map – the legal record of all public rights of way.
Walking charity The Ramblers has been running a Don’t Lose Your Way campaign to search for lost footpaths in England and Wales, with volunteers working towards a cut-off date of 1 January 2026 to get the most significant of these reinstated.
However, the government has announced that the 2026 deadline will be abolished in England to allow more time for paths to be identified and added to the public rights of way network.
The removal of the 2026 deadline had already been announced in Wales in 2018.
See also: How to protect farmland against new public rights of way
The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) said it was deeply damaging to remove the cut-off date without consultation or warning and would lead to uncertainty for landowners and farmers.
Lack of certainty
CLA president Mark Tufnell said: “Those seeking to recover long-lost public rights of way have had decades to apply to modify the map, and we have supported their right to do so.
“But the cut-off date was there for good reason, not least to help provide certainty to farmers and landowners who may wish to buy or sell land, or those who simply need to know what their responsibilities are.
“I could perhaps understand the change if our countryside was already lacking in public access.
“But there are over 140,000 miles of public footpaths in England and Wales alone. That’s enough to go around the Earth six times.”
However, The Ramblers welcomed the decision, arguing it was good news for walkers and would help ensure that more people could connect with nature for generations to come.
Removing the arbitrary deadline would also help ease the pressure on under-resourced local authorities, which would need time to process all the claims for missing rights of way, it said.
“This welcome decision means that, with the help of our brilliant volunteers, we’ll be able to make sure the most important and useful paths are added back to the map and protected for future generations,” said Jack Cornish, head of paths.
More than 49,000 miles of unrecorded rights of way in England and Wales have been identified through the Don’t Lose Your Way campaign.
The Ramblers has indicated that it will shortly start recruiting volunteers, who will engage in the research required to pull together the evidence required by a local authority to support a lost footpath being reinstated.