Footpaths 'at risk' over public right of way deadline

Lucy Wilson from the Open Spaces Society campaigns for the preservation of public rights of way

More than 6,500 miles (10,460km) of paths in Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset could be lost, campaigners say.

The government has set a 2031 deadline to legally register public rights of way.

After this date, walkers on unregistered paths will no longer be able to claim rights of way based on historic evidence.

Lucy Wilson, from the Open Spaces Society, said there were many "unresolved cases".

Ms Wilson lives in St Ervan, near Padstow, where the charity has worked to have "Footpath 16" officially recorded.

"These footpaths or highways have been here for decades, sometimes over hundreds of years," she said.

Farmer Andrew Eustice said he was resigned to the fact footpaths had to be there

Farmer Andrew Eustice said footpaths such as Number 16 could be troublesome for those working on the land because livestock and crops could be impacted by paths cutting through fields.

"If we went around putting no cattle on every field that's got a footpath on it, we'd just as well sell up," he said.

"There's only about three fields left on the farm that haven't got a path through them."

However, he added: "We are resigned to the fact there's got to be a path here."

'Preserve history'

Claire Wright, from the Country Land and Business Association, said it had seen a "significant uptick" in members getting in touch with concerns over possible historic footpaths.

She added: "It almost hangs a little bit like the sword of Damocles over businesses who are already facing a really tough time."

The deadline to record historic rights of way was originally set by Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for January 2026.

It was repealed in February 2022, then reinstated this March for 2031.

Footpath 16 near Padstow is among those to have been recorded in the Defra map

The Ramblers campaign group carried out a survey of all paths recorded since 1949 in England and Wales and found that 49,000 miles (79,000km) were at risk.

Jack Cornish, from the charity, said they would like to see the deadline scrapped in order to "preserve part of our history".

Cornwall Council said it was "committed to protecting the public rights of way" across the county.

It said its "interventions and actions" secured the public's right to use path 16 and it would work with landowners to keep paths open and maintained.

It would take action against landowners to remove obstructions where necessary, it said.

Follow BBC News South West on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].