‘Lost’ rights of way – update

Last year we reported the good news that the Government had sensibly decided to scrap the 2026 deadline for registering ‘lost’ rights of way. Unfortunately they have just performed a U-turn on this promise and decided to reinstate a deadline that will come into effect in 2031. That sounds a long way away but we know from experience the time and effort it takes to prepare a viable claim. The decision has been criticised by a coalition of like-minded organisations including the Ramblers, the British Horse Society and the Open Spaces Society. It should be noted that once a claim has been submitted to the County Council it can take many years to be processed. For example, there is a diversion order to the west of Stortford that has been outstanding almost 20 years. When we checked last year it was 203 out of 280 applications although since our intervention it has moved up but still remains years from a resolution.