In March last year the department seemingly rowed back on a plan agreed during a decade of work with all interested parties on how rights of way that have long fallen out of use can be re-added to the ‘definitive map’.
The NFU and CLA previously wrote to Defra minister Lord Benyon and the Secretary of State George Eustice seeking urgent clarification on how the decision was made and why no notice was given, highlighting the impacts on landowners, farm businesses and their families.
Such paths have often not been used for more than 70 years, with some now passing through the gardens of family homes, working farmyards or commercial premises, but campaigners can apply for them to be reinstated, if they can produce historical evidence the route once existed.
The agreed package had included a 2026 cut-off date for new applications and the NFU raised the decision not to proceed at the highest levels, highlighting the impacts on landowners, farm businesses and their farming families.
Solutions could be costly
“The reinstatement of a cut-off date will remove the uncertainty for landowners, and free up the backlog of claims."
NFU Chief Land Management Adviser Sam Durham
While some can be extinguished or diverted in specific circumstances, the procedure is lengthy and can be costly.
Claims can hang over farm businesses for months and landowners cannot make an application to divert or extinguish a route until the process is complete.
Rethink provides certainty
The department now says it once again aims to press ahead with the full package of reforms – although the 2026 date for adding routes to the map has been extended to January 2031.
NFU Chief Land Management Adviser Sam Durham said: “We are pleased that Defra has reconsidered its decision.
"The NFU has been actively campaigning for more than 10 years to bring about changes to historic rights of way legislation.
“Many farmers have claims for rights of way hanging over them for long periods, which significantly impacts the farm business. The reinstatement of a cut-off date will remove the uncertainty for landowners, and free up the backlog of claims that local authorities are dealing with as well as allowing legitimate claims to be ratified.”
Some local authorities had experienced a deluge of request since Defra scrapped its original plans, with one reporting more than 140 applications for paths to be reinstated in the past 12 months.
We will continue to work with Defra and other organisations for clarity on what this means for our members.
Are you affected? Contact NFU CallFirst on 0370 845 8458.
