URL: https://democratic.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=3861

Decision Maker: Executive Director: Place, Planning & Regeneration

Outcome:

Is Key Decision?: Yes

Is Callable In?: Yes

Purpose: To seek approval for the validity of the decision-making process and the resulting conclusions from the third consolidation of the Bracknell Forest Definitive Map and Statement of public rights of way.

Content: i.       To approve the consolidation of all changes made by Modification Orders, to the DMS of Bracknell Forest rights of way.   ii.     To approve the subsequent Modification Orders required for the Definitive Statement, Mosses Path and Binfield Bridleway 23a deletion; to be included as part of the consolidation to the DMS of Bracknell Forest rights of way.   1.     Legal obligation: The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 placed a duty on surveying authorities in England and Wales to draw up and publish a DMS for their area, who were then required to keep this under periodic review.  The Countryside Act 1968 amended this Act to allow different considerations to be taken into account when reviewing the DMS. With the passing of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 the requirement for periodic reviews by local authorities was abandoned and was replaced by a rolling review system. Under sections 53 and 57(5) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 Bracknell Forest Council, who is the surveying authority, has a statutory duty to keep the DMS under continuous review, maintaining and updating them where required and making them available for inspection by the public. Copies are provided as PDFs on the council’s website. Hard copies are available for inspection free of charge at the Time Square office. Working copies are also maintained, with an interactive rights of way map provided for public viewing on the council’s website. These should not be regarded as a true legal record. 2.     Expediency:           DMS’s are accurate to a specific date in their preparation which is known as the Relevant Date. After that time, they become increasingly out-of-date as Public Path Orders (for example diversions and stopping up) and other legal events take place. The mapping base also becomes more unrepresentative of the present because of development. At Bracknell Forest the Relevant Date is January 2013. ‘Modification orders have to be kept with the map where it is available for public inspection, but to make the map itself more complete, surveying authorities can 'consolidate' it from time to time by incorporating the effects of modification orders on to the map.’ See Appendix 8 for A guide to definitive maps and changes to public rights of way - 2008 Revision, by Natural England. This consolidation is required to incorporate all the Modification Orders granted over the past 12 years. It will provide a more complete snapshot in time of the legal record of the public’s rights to use footpaths, bridleways, restricted byways and byways open to all traffic.   3.     Council policy: An action to complete a consolidation of the DMS is included in the Bracknell Forest Rights of Way Improvement Plan (RoWIP2): “Produce a third consolidated DMS of public rights of way in Bracknell Forest, which identifies and addresses anomalies in the current DMS.”   1.     To not consolidate the changes   Through the review of the changes since the Second DMS, officers have identified further updates required to the DMS through legal event Modification Orders. By not going through with this consolidation, Bracknell Forest Council would be failing in its legal duty to maintain and update the DMS   Not consolidating the changes would also:   ·       be a missed opportunity to provide a more complete snapshot in time of the Bracknell Forest rights of way network as local authorities are required by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1991 to keep the DMS under continuous review ·       be contrary to council policy (RoWIP2). ·       disappoint key stakeholders consulted on this consolidation work, such as the Local Countryside Access Forum (LCAF).   2.     To proceed without overview and scrutiny.   This risks future challenges to the process followed by Bracknell Forest Council. It is important to have legal input into rights of way processes, which are very complex. The approval of the consolidation of the DMS is to be carried out in accordance with the current Constitutional requirements.   None

Date of Decision: December 20, 2024