As a Parish Clerk, you may be the first point of contact for someone wanting to report a problem regarding a Public Right of Way

A Public Right of Way (PRoW) is a way over which the public has a right to "pass and repass", whether or not the land is privately-owned. You can view a map of the Public Rights of Way in North Yorkshire by clicking the button below.

The data on this map is for information only. It is not an extract of the Definitive Map and should not be relied on for determining the position or alignment of any PRoW.

For information about the different types of PRoW and who can use them, please click on the button below.

To report a PRoW issue, contact the button below.

We maintain the PRoW network outside of the National Parks. PRoWs within the Yorkshire Dales National Park (YDNP) and the North York Moors National Park (NYMNP), are maintained by each respectively via a delegation agreement.

At North Yorkshire Council, we receive over 1900 reports of issues regarding PRoW’s per year. As a result, we prioritise our limited resources based on risk and impact to users as well as the route priority. Reports of issues considered dangerous will be investigated and made safe as soon as possible, where this is our responsibility. Maintenance responsibility for stiles, gates and obstructions lies with the landowner or tenant.

Issues are often complex and can take a significant amount of time to deal with. Unfortunately, this means we are unable to give timescales on when issues will be resolved; nor can we give individual progress updates, due to the large volume of reports received and officer caseload.

To report a PRoW Issue outside of the national parks to North Yorkshire Council, please see the ‘how do I report a right of way issue’ section on our website by clicking the button below.

We ask that photos of the issue are provided with the report as they will help us to assess the problem.

To raise a PRoW issue within the YDNP email info@yorkshiredales.org.uk or contact the area manager directly, details available via the link below.

To raise a PRoW issue within the NYMNP please complete their feedback form available via the button below.

You can help support us in maintaining PRoW’s across the county by:

• Directing residents to the appropriate channels to report PROW issues.
• Visit our webpages for information and advice, and get in touch where you require further information.
• If there is an interested community group, consider signing up as path keepers.
• The scheme gives groups permission to carry out basic tasks on the PRoW network in their area (excluding the National Parks) to help with the upkeep of routes. For further information about the scheme contact our volunteer co-ordinator via Countryside.Volunteers@northyorks.gov.uk.

By working together, we can ensure that Public Rights of Way are well-maintained and available.

Parish Councils are statutory consultees for legal Orders relating to Public Rights of Way. The main ones you will be consulted on are Public Path Orders and Definitive Map Modification Orders.

Rights of way are protected by law. Unless stopped up by legal means, they remain highways even if they are little used or not obvious on the ground. Rights of way can be moved, added to or deleted from the Definitive Map, but the correct legal procedure must be followed.

The different types of Orders are processed under different legislation and there are different legal criteria and grounds for applications and making objections or representations. It is important to understand the differences to be able to reply to the consultation correctly.

Public Path Orders are commonly made to move (divert) paths, but can also be made to create new paths or extinguish paths. They can be made in the interests of the landowner or in the interests of the public. Common reasons for applying for a Public Path Order are to divert a path away from a busy working farmyard or private garden, for safety, security and privacy reasons.  These are all valid reasons for applying to move a path, but the alternative path should not be substantially less convenient than the existing path. Objections can be made on the grounds that the new path is less convenient or enjoyable, for example:

• The new route is substantially longer (this is usually only a valid ground for objection where the path is used for amenity purposes e.g. to get to shops, schools etc. Where a path is used as part of a leisure walk, an increase in distance would not necessarily be an issue)
• The surface of the new path is worse than the existing surface
• There are more gates, stiles etc on the new route
• Loss of views or privacy for neighbouring property

Further information about Public Path Orders can be found by clicking the button below.

Definitive Map Modification Orders (DMMOs) are made to correct errors in the Definitive Map (the legal record of public rights of way), for example to add a path which has been used by the public unchallenged for many years, but which is not recorded on the Definitive Map, or to change the type of path recorded. For Definitive Map Modification Orders the tests for making an Order are solely about whether the evidence does or does not justify a change to the Definitive Map.

Before submitting any objections or representations please bear the following in mind:

• Definitive Map Modification Orders are not about creating new rights of way, but are the legal process for recording rights of way which already exist; either paths that have acquired public rights through long unchallenged public use, or ways which should have been recorded on the Definitive Map but were left off
• Definitive Map Modification Orders are also used for amending the Definitive Map where a right of way has been recorded incorrectly, such as a bridleway incorrectly recorded as a footpath
• Issues such as desirability or suitability of a particular route, environmental issues or safety concerns cannot be taken into account in the Definitive Map Modification Order process and cannot be counted as valid reasons for objecting to a DMMO. Simply not wanting a particular path to be added to, deleted from or changed on the Definitive Map is not a reason for objecting to a Definitive Map Modification Order.

An objection to a Definitive Map Modification Order must:

• clearly state the grounds for your objection
• be supported by relevant evidence
• have new evidence to support your objection, which should be submitted with the objection.

If your objection relies on evidence which has already been submitted to us, there is no need to re-submit that evidence and you should simply refer to it in your objection.

Relevant evidence for Definitive Map Modification Orders is the same regardless of whether you wish to support or object to the Order. Full information on the different kinds of evidence that are relevant can be found by clicking the button below.

As a Parish Council you may be asked by residents to take action if a long-used but unrecorded path has recently been blocked or users have been challenged. In this case you could consider applying for a Definitive Map Modification Order to record the path. Full details of how to apply and the evidence you will need to gather in support can be found in our Guidance Notes by clicking the button below.

Please note that due to the number of DMMO applications we have, it will be several years until any new applications can be processed. It is therefore a good idea to explore alternative options first, for example an approach to the person who has blocked the route or challenged users; this may be better received from a local parish council in person than a legal notification of DMMO application. The landowner may be willing to offer continued use of the route, or suggest another route, that would keep access open in the short term.

The Legal Process

Both types of Order (Public Path Orders and Definitive Map Modifications Orders) follow a similar legal process:

• Stage 1 – informal consultation with parish councils and user groups (via email), to understand if the diversion proposal is likely to be supported or opposed, and to gather evidence to support or oppose a DMMO. At this stage you can request additional time to look at the consultation, eg to fit with parish council meetings timetables. It is important that you respond to this consultation, even if you have no comments to make.
• Stage 2 – decision on whether or not to make the Order
• Stage 3 – if the Order is made, it is then advertised by way of Notices on site, in the local newspaper, on the NYC website and by email to all interested parties, including parish councils. The consultation period runs for 28 days (Public Path Orders) or 42 days (DMMOs) and objections must be made within this period. No extensions are allowed.
• Stage 4 – if there are no objections, the Order can be confirmed, the Definitive Map amended, and/or the path moved on the ground. Notices advertising the confirmation are put up on site, in the local newspaper, on the NYC website and by email to all interested parties, including parish councils. At this stage, the only challenge that can be made is by application to the High Court, on the grounds that legal processes were not properly followed.
• Stage 4 – if there are objections to a DMMO, the Order cannot be confirmed by NYC and instead must be submitted to the Secretary of State for decision. For Public Path Orders the Council can choose to submit the opposed Order to the Secretary of State, or formally abandon the Order.
• Opposed Orders submitted to the Secretary of State then follow a lengthy process to determine whether or not they can be confirmed. This is done by either an exchange of written representations, a local hearing or a public inquiry. Please note - if a Parish Council (or individual) has objected to an Order, or is the applicant for a DMMO, there is an expectation that they would represent that objection / application either with written representation, or in person at a hearing or public inquiry.