What is a public right of way?
Public rights of way are highways. Legally, they only differ from the roads which you drive along by the types of traffic entitled to use them. There are two types of public path within the city and they are shown below. Public path is a collective term for all public rights of way.
• Footpaths are for use by people on foot.
• Bridleways are open to walkers, equestrians and cyclists.
There are other paths along which the public enjoy a right of way, these include:
• Cycle tracks, which are routes over which the public have a right of way on pedal cycle, with or without a right of way on foot. They can be associated with an adjacent carriageway, usually in lieu of a footway, or be independent from any other route.
• Permissive paths, being a path which the landowner permits the public to use, with the intention that it should not become a public right of way.
The Definitive Map and Statement
The council has a duty under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to keep a definitive map and statement (the definitive map) of public rights of way under constant review.
The definitive map is the legal record of public rights of way and records footpaths, bridleways and restricted byways. Inclusion on the definitive map is conclusive evidence of the existence of the right of way. However, the reverse is not true, as paths not shown on the definitive map may also carry public rights. It is the duty of the council to make sure the definitive map reflects reality by modifying it to remove discrepancies between the rights that exist and those that are recorded. The council must make and confirm a definitive map modification order, which must be supported by suitable legal evidence, before a change can be made to the definitive map.
Rights of Way Improvement Plan
The Countryside and Rights of Way (CROW) Act 2000 placed a duty on the council to produce a Rights of Way Improvement Plan (RoWIP) which will set out a 10 year plan for improving the rights of way network. The plan should assess:
• the extent that rights of way meet the present and future needs of the public
• the opportunities provided by rights of way for exercise and other forms of open-air recreation
• the accessibility of rights of way to blind or partially sighted people and others with mobility problems
• any matters that the Secretary of State may direct.
It should also contain a statement of action that the authority proposes to take for the management of rights of way, and for securing an improved network. The plan is an integral part of the Local Transport Plan for Leicester, which sets out our intentions for how our network of rights of way will contribute to our wider transport strategies of improving accessibility (primarily to employment and education facilities) and providing leisure opportunities.
For further enquiries or advice, telephone (0116) 252 6605.
Leicester's Rights of Way Improvement Plan 2011-2021 now forms part of Leicester's Third Local Transport Plan (LTP3) and can be accessed on either the LTP3 page or below, together with the Rights of Way Improvement Plan 2007-2017, which it superdedes.
