Defra reinstates rights of way cut-off date

The UK government has agreed to retain a cut-off date for footpath campaigners to apply to have ancient rights of way reinstated.

Access campaign group The Ramblers claims 49,000 miles of ancient footpaths and bridleways have been lost from the Definitive Map in England.

Its members have long been engaged in a co-ordinated effort to trawl historical documents and maps to locate lapsed rights of way and apply to have them re-instated.

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But the process has left landowners in a state of limbo over walkers’ rights and swamped local council offices with a backlog of paperwork.

Deadlines

In a bid to end the ever-lengthening process, the government set a deadline for applications to be lodged by 1 January 2026 under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (Crow).

But in February 2022, Defra announced a decision to repeal the 2026 cut-off legislation and allow more applications to be made.

However, that decision sparked concern and the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) has successfully lobbied for a cut-off date to be reimposed.

In a statement, Defra said it had listened to landowner and local government concerns and set a new date of 1 January 2031.

CLA president Mark Tufnell said maintaining a cut-off date was a positive step.

“The current process has left rural businesses in limbo, with the potential of a claim hanging over every landowner indefinitely,” Mr Tufnell said.

He added that the CLA was eager to collaborate with Defra and campaigning groups to ensure people could continue to experience the benefits of the countryside in a responsible way.