Lost Ways Presentation
Herefordshire Local Access Forum
April 2012
What are Lost Ways?
• Lost ways are routes currently or
once used by the public which not
recorded on current highway records
• These include routes which may have
higher rights than are recorded such
as equestrian rights over ways
recorded as footpaths
Key Terms
• Unadopted Roads – not being
maintained at public’s expense
• Accommodation Roads – routes serving
particular properties
• White roads – Routes shown
uncoloured on OS maps
• Private Streets – Highways not publicly
maintainable
• Green lanes – Physical state of route
• Private Roads – Roads with no highway
rights
How do routes become lost?
• Never recorded on legal records
• Not transferred from one record to
another
• Dropped off records i.e. Highways
maintenance documents
• Correct status not recorded
What are the current Highway
Records?
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List of Streets
Definitive Map and Written
Statements
Streets Gazetteer
How was the information for
the current records provided?
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1929 - Rural District Councils provided
'handover maps' showing roads they
were maintaining
1950’s –Parish Council’s provided
maps showing footpaths and
bridleways together with 'Roads used
as public paths'
Herefordshire Council adds newly
created routes, and any existing routes
that it discovers
What is the current situation?
• Unrecorded roads and byways
• Fragmented network & cul-de-sacs
• Gaps, including discrepancies between maps
and statements
• Anomalies
• Shortage of multi user routes
• Lack of clarity about usage
• More routes becoming lost and obstructed
• Non maintenance
• Complex systems involved in changing
records
• Costs
Current situation continued
• There has not been a historic record check
for roads and byways
• Paths are not always shown in compliance
with the Written Statements and stop short of
defined termination
• Paths terminate on Parish Boundaries
• Not all paths were submitted in 1950's, or
were submitted but not accepted
• Stepping forward report is not addressing
these problems
What evidence of this do we
have?
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Written Statements,
Parish submissions - Paths
not accepted
Historic records
Highway Records
The high number of DMMO
applications
Present situation

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The ways may physically exist and be
in everyday use
The ways may be claimed to be
private, even when footpaths branch
off them.
The ways may be neglected,
overgrown, obstructed, ploughed out
of existence, and no longer in use
All recording of unrecorded rights has
to go through the same process.
Options

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Carry on with current DMMO
process and statement of
priorities.
Look at alternative methods of
getting routes opened and used
– paperwork catches up
Lobby central government for
change in law
Proposals (unadopted and
accommodation roads)



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Undertake a physical survey of roads
and byways, i.e., unadopted and
accommodation roads.
Prioritise surveyed routes in
conjunction with local demand
(consultation) and wider network
Research high priority routes and
identify most appropriate recording
method
Record high priority routes
Proposals (gaps)

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Identify and survey all gaps in
the network.
Prioritise paths in accordance
with current categorisation.
Consider what procedure to use
to bring Definitive Map and
Written Statements into line.
Proposals – Parish Councils

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Provide parishes with copies of their
1950 submissions for review,
together with maps showing what is
presently recorded
Parish Council to:
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Agree dedication with landowner or..
Submit DMMO claim or…
State willingness or not to take forward
Herefordshire Council to coordinate
parish and county boundary paths.
What changes to legislation
would be helpful
• The present SWG report if
adopted would be of some
benefit, but it does not:• address the need for a historic
trawl of roads and byways
• Clarification of the 2026 cut off
date details
Local Access Forum

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Agree with proposal set out
Agree that a working party
should put proposals into
motion
Advice that Herefordshire
Council review current policies
Provide support and guidance
to Parish councils
Seek national legislation change