The role and responsibility of the rights of way officer within the Traffic Management Team is to manage and review the Definitive Map and Statement of public rights of way and to improve and promote public access both within and through the City of Nottingham.

What is a public right of way and once legally recorded how long do they exist for?

Public rights of way are just like roads; they provide a means of travelling from one place to another and are protected by highway law and legislation. This means that if a path is recorded as public on the Definitive Map and Statement of public rights of way, they remain as public rights of way even if no physical evidence exists or they are unrecognisable on the ground. Therefore, the maxim once a highway always a highway seems to fit quite well. However, this statement is not entirely correct as a public right of way can be extinguished or diverted onto a new line by an act of parliament. So the maxim would be more accurately stated if it were to read “once a highway always a highway, unless of course it is extinguished through an act of parliament”.

Within the City there are both Public Footpaths and Public Bridleways recorded on the Definitive Map and Statement. On footpaths you can travel by foot only and on bridleways you can travel by foot, horse or pedal cycle. Nationally, there is of course a range of other public ways with differing status including Roads Used as Public Paths (RUPPS) which are to be re-classified as Restricted Byways and Byways Open to All Traffic (BOATS).

Once a public right of way legally comes into being, if it is not legally extinguished, then the public’s right to use the way lasts forever. This is opposed to private rights which generally only last for a set number of years and are usually made through an agreement or under licence with the legal landowner.

Generally, public rights of way come into being by one of two means. Either the legal landowner dedicates (gives away) the strip of land to the public as a public path, sometimes referred to as “express dedication”, or through a statutory instrument such as a Definitive Map Modification Order (see “DMMO” below) which is made by the Highway Authority for the area where the path exists. Once the strip of land becomes public highway, ownership of the land (sub soil) will usually remain with the landowner. The Highway Authority will have a vested interest in the top two spits (around 6-9 inches) to enable them to undertake their duty to protect and assert the public rights along the highway and to undertake their duty to maintain and repair. Some public rights of way may be privately maintained, for example maintained by the owner of the land over which the path crosses or publicly maintained by the Highway Authority, using public money.   It is only the highways that are recorded on the List of Streets as “Adopted Highways” that are maintainable at the public expense and that the Highway Authority has a duty to maintain and repair.

History of the Definitive Map in the City of Nottingham

Following unitary status in 1998, the City Council became responsible for public rights of way within the City and the keeping and continuous review of the Definitive Map and Statement for the City. Between the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949 and the more recent Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981 the City was treated as an “excluded area”. An excluded area meant that there was no statutory duty for local Highway Authority’s to record public paths in built up areas such as the City. This led to many paths within the City of Nottingham that should have been recorded and protected as public, being overlooked and left unrecorded and sadly unprotected. The Statement provides conclusive details of the length, the width, its status (bridleway or footpath) and where the way commences from and terminates given by its Ordnance Survey (O.S.) grid reference points. The Statement may also include any restrictions applied to the way and any path furniture such as gates and stiles.

Who in the Council looks after the Definitive Map and Statement

The City Councils Traffic Management Team, part of City Development at Lawrence House, is responsible for keeping, updating and managing the City’s Definitive Map and Statement. The Definitive Map and accompanying Statement is the legal document that provides conclusive evidence of the existence of the public’s right, to pass and re-pass, along footpaths and bridleways within the City of Nottingham.

The Countryside and Rights of Way (CROW) Act 2000 introduced a compulsory cut off date for public rights to be permanently extinguished along ways that existed before 1st January 1949, if they are not recorded on the Definitive Map and Statement by 1st January 2026. In line with this statutory duty the City’s Map is currently under a comprehensive review with evidence being researched that may clarify the status of all unrecorded ways in the City, with the intention of legally recording and protecting all suitable ways on the Map.

The public’s right to modify the Definitive Map and Statement

Any member of the public may make an application to the Council’s Highway Authority to add or delete, upgrade or downgrade, amend or reclassify a public way which, if confirmed, modifies the Definitive Map and Statement. This process is achieved through a Definitive Map Modification Order (DMMO) sometimes referred to as an “evidential order”. Councils are under a statutory obligation to continually review the Map and Statement and to consider, fully, evidence presented to them or evidence that the Council discovers its self. The evidence may show that an unrecorded way, which is not shown on the Map and Statement, is indeed public and should be so recorded. Similarly, a recorded way that is shown on the Map and Statement may have been incorrectly recorded, for example a footpath should have been recorded with higher rights, such as bridleway, and the Map and Statement may need modifying to show this. A DMMO is concerned with recording ways(s) that already exists on the ground as opposed to creating new ways.

Under section 53B of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and Statutory Instrument 2459 (as amended by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000) the City Council has a duty to keep a Register of DMMO applications that they have received. For further information on completing and submitting an application for a DMMO or on applications made by the public please contact the Traffic Management team on either 0115 9156078 or 0115 9156653.

Changes to the public rights of way network

Changes may also be made to the public rights of way network through a Public Path Order (PPO) for the Extinguishment (Highways Act 1980 section 118) or Diversion (Highways Act 1980 section 119) or the Stopping Up or Diversion (Town and Country Planning Act section 257) of the public’s rights over the highway. The Councils power to make and confirm PPO’s are purely discretionary (as opposed to applications for DMMO’s which the Council have a statutory duty to acknowledge and fully investigate). An example of a PPO would be where an owner of the land crossed by a public path makes an application under (Highways Act 1980 section 119) to the Council to divert the path to the edge of their land to make more effective use of their land. Another example under the Town and Country Planning Act section 257 is where the construction of a new building requires the stopping up or diversion of the path to enable the development to take place. The Councils power to make and confirm PPO’s are purely discretionary (as opposed to applications for DMMO’s which the Council have a statutory duty to acknowledge and fully investigate). The Council must also adhere to polices set out in the Local Plan related to public rights of way before considering too use their order making powers. Please see Guidance Notes for further advice for making an application for a PPO. Temporary changes may also be made using Temporary Prohibition Orders (Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984 section 14) for the temporary closure of the highway if proposed works on or near the highway are likely to cause danger to the public or if emergency works are required to the make the highway safe for public use. The Council may also make a Public Path Creation Order to create a new path for the benefit of the public.  

The Council may also make an Order to extinguish or divert the public’s right over the highway to reduce crime and disorder. These orders are known as Special Extinguishment / Diversion Orders and were introduced by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 which inserted Sections 118B (special extinguishment orders) and 119B (special diversion orders) into the Highways Act 1980.  The Council must first apply for a Designated Area Order from the Secretary of State before they can make a Special Order for a specific highway.  A Special Order may also be made to protect schools, their pupils and staff. The Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act 2005 inserted Section 129A into the Highways Act 1980 which gives the Council powers to restrict the public’s rights over the highway by using a Gating Order to reduce crime or antisocial behaviour. Unlike a Special Order a Gating Order does not remove the status of the highway; it restricts the public use of the highway either at certain times of the day or night or at all times. A Gating Order may be used for antisocial as well as crime.   For further information on PPO’s, Special Orders or Gating Orders please contact the Traffic Management team on 0115 9156078 or 0115 9156084.

Promotion of Public Rights of Way network

Promotion of the network is a continuous process. The Council are currently working on a number of promoted walks to and through the City. Effective signing and way marking also helps in the promotion of the network and clarifies what the way may be legally used for and not used for. The Council recognises the importance of the network for promoting an alternative and sustainable means of travel from A to B, especially for the shorter journeys that we all make on a daily basis to the reach the shops and other local amenities.  

The Public’s Right to Inspect the Definitive Map and Statement

The Definitive Map and Statement and Working Draft Definitive Map (the draft map where all claimed paths following a DMMO application are recorded pending their investigation for Definitive status) are public documents and are therefore open to public inspection. If you wish to view the maps please make an appointment using the above phone numbers during normal office hours at the address given below.

Recent Developments

Nottingham Local Access Forum was set up during 2004 as part of the Countryside and Rights of Way (CROW) Act 2000. All Forum meetings are publicised on the Councils web page and in the local press and all meetings are open to the public to attend. The Forum provides the basis for informing the Council and the Countryside Agency and for developing the Rights of Way Improvement Plan (ROWIP) which is also a statutory duty under the CROW Act 2000. The ROWIP is a strategic plan which will provide a means on which improvements can be identified and prioritised to reflect the changing needs and demands of current and future users of the network. The intention of central Government is to link the ROWIP to the Local Transport Plan by 2010. A user questionnaire is being designed which will be sent to interested parties to establish their views on the network and how and where we can best make the improvements. The ROWIP will be published by November 2007.

What to do if you experience a problem on any public path within the City

If you believe there is a problem on any path that you consider to have public status, such as an obstruction or the condition of the path in general, then we would like to hear from you so remedial action may be taken to address the problem as soon as practically possible.  

Who should you contact if you need further information on public rights of way in the City?

Any member of the Traffic Management team based at Lawrence House will be happy to deal with your general enquiry. If however, you require any specific details, for example on the status of a path or on the progress of reviewing the Definitive Map and Statement, then you may need to speak to the senior rights of way officer on the number below.

John Lee: Telephone 0115 915 6078 e-mail john.lee@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

or write to:

John Lee - Public Rights of Way officer
Nottingham City Council
Traffic management
City Development
Lawrence House
Talbot Street
Nottingham,NG1 5NT

Fax: 0115 9156150

Information on where you can legally walk, cycle and ride in the City of Nottingham as well as new proposed routes to be added to the Map and Statement is now available on our Nomad mapping system: R.O.W Nomad Mapping Link

Link to Nottingham City' Councils Cycling in Nottingham webpage

Link to Nottingham City Councils Walking in Nottingham webpage