Obstruction of a Public Footpath.
soolie
land. The LA act as agents for the CC in Highway matters and I have
complained to both a LA and the CC. The CC have written to the LA but
they have done nothing else even though the LA seem to be ignoring
them on this issue. What can I do now? I am a member of the OSS and
the RA but they do not have a rep near me.
http://www.oss.org.uk
Ian Rawlings
Hello, first off I'm no expert on the matter, just a RoW user involved
in using and clearing byways, but normally if the gate's there and you
can open it, it's just easier to go through it and ignore any niceties
about whether it really should be there or not. If it's locked or you
can't get through it, e.g. disabled user, then that's another matter.
This group rarely gets any posts these days so you might not get any
answers from someone who really knows what to do but if you're a
member of the RA and OSS, can they not advise you about the next
steps?
In the past I used to use some lanes that the farmer used to put gates
on and lock them, stating that he was doing so to stop thefts from his
barns, never mind that he only locked the RoW and didn't lock the firm
surfaced, wide farm tracks leading directly to the barns in question..
After he refused to stop locking them I just cut the chains with some
boltcutters and he never put them back on, just grumbled a bit then
just left me alone. Easier than involving the council.
Now I've moved out of the area, I've not seen anything similar in my
new area, other than expired TRO notices that are still up 2 years
after the TRO was removed and the council promising to remove them,
and still promising over a year after I first told them. So if you
are confident that the gate is an illegal obstruction to a valid RoW
and you can remove the obstruction then just remove it, the councils
are often more trouble than they're worth so when you can take action
legally without involving them then just go ahead.
--
Blast off and strike the evil Bydo empire!
http://youtube.com/user/tarcus69
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarcus/sets/
Brian
"soolie" <soo...@googlemail.com> wrote in message
news:4klee4ttrivj212ab...@4ax.com...
Offering more more information and using less abbreviations might be helpful
for anyone wishing to advise you.
Is 'LA' the Local Authority and is 'CC' the County Council? If so, which
ones are they?
What type of gate is it and has it not been authorised in some way; recorded
in the statement that accompanies the definitive map (if there is one), or
authorised by the relevant authority for instance. What purpose does the
gate serve - to prevent ingress or egress of animals for example? Is the
gate a practical problem for you or is it a matter of principle? What has
one council said to the other and what is the time scale?
Brian
soolie
wrote:
The gate is locked. I have considered sawing through the part the lock
is attached to. The lock is one of those expensive hardened steel ones
which cannot be cut. I had thought of sending the LA a mail telling
them I would do this and see what their reaction is but by doing that
I would be identifying myself.
soolie
wrote:
Sorry LA is indeed the local authority and CC is the county council.
The definitive statement makes no mention of gates. There are no
animals involved and the gate appears to be a means of diverting the
FP to a new one they have made a few metres away and eventually
leading to the same place. The gate has been there about 5 years. It
is not really a practical problem for me but it is a matter of
principle as the same thing has happened many time elsewhere but in
those cases the FP is not on the very limited DM.
Brian
Hmmm. If the County Council is also the Highway Authority (and for the
purposes of the Definitive Map & Statement, the Surveying Authority) then
they should take measures to remove the gate if it is not authorised (or
authorise it if it is deemed necessary) and especially as you have asked
them to. Either way, they should have the lock removed. It is their
statutory duty to ensure that the public right of way is kept available for
use by the public - (I know and accept that there are reasons why some
public rights of way are unavailable but a locked gate is not an acceptable
reason).
They, the County Council (CC), should first ask the landowner to make the
route available but at the same time warn them that if they do not comply by
a specified time then they (the CC) will do the necessary work and charge
them for the service. If you don't get satsifaction from the CC then you
should complain about that too, adding that you may have recourse to go
ultimately to the Local Ombudsman - their function is to investigate
complaints by members of the public who claim to have suffered injustice
through maladministration by certain public bodies. The Local Ombudsman will
not hear your complaint unless you have exhausted a complaint under an
authority's own complaints procedures though.
Obviously all of this can be a lengthy business but if you uphold your
principle on this one then they may amend their policy and practice for
future complaints.
You may wish to research the Highways Act 1980. Sections 130A-D of that Act
provide an important means by which a person may, through application to the
magistrates' court, compel an authority to carry out its duty to prevent the
obstruction of a highway.
If the landowner is, as you say, diverting the route (informally) then that
might be interpreted as a dedication of a public right of way in which case
that route, in time, could become a public footpath too. You could make an
application for a definitive map modification order (under the Wildlife &
Countryside Act) to the Highway Authority, to have that route added to the
definitive map. The Highway Authority has a duty to deal with such
applications within a certain time period. Perhaps that would stir them up.
Brian
soolie
wrote:
Well I have finally managed to look at the details of the S.130-D of
the Highways Act 1980. It seems to be the only avenue as I have no
time for the Local Ombudsman avenue. I will have to think very
carefully about going to a Magistrates Court and balance that against
just sawing the gate down. I am grateful for the information you
posted. I am hoping to get all RoW established in my locality but it
seems the County Council is pushing me all the way hoping I will not
go through with actually going to court. I will have to consider my
next move carefully.
Brian
soolie" wrote:
> Well I have finally managed to look at the details of the S.130-D of
> the Highways Act 1980. It seems to be the only avenue as I have no
> time for the Local Ombudsman avenue. I will have to think very
> carefully about going to a Magistrates Court and balance that against
> just sawing the gate down. I am grateful for the information you
> posted. I am hoping to get all RoW established in my locality but it
> seems the County Council is pushing me all the way hoping I will not
> go through with actually going to court. I will have to consider my
> next move carefully.
I'd be interested to know whether or not the footpath is still obstructed by
the gate
Brian
soolie
wrote:
Yes I asked the Countryside Officer and he merely replied he had
written to the LA who owned the gate and were also the CC agents.
I have written to the Countryside Officer informally warning the
obstructions have been acknowledged by him as unlawful but despite him
writing a letter they remain. I have added I will eventually be
serving a S.130A-D upon the CC and I will not deal with the LA who are
only agents of the CC and if necessary I will take the CC to court.