Countryside access
Public rights of way
What is a public right of way?
It is a legal right to pass over land, even if the land is privately owned:
- on a public footpath, this means a right of way on foot only
- on a public bridleway, there is also a right of way on horseback and by bicycle
- on a restricted byway, there is also a right of way for non-motorised vehicles
- on a byway open to all traffic (BOAT), there is also a right to drive a vehicle on the public right of way
Most public rights of way are recorded on the definitive map and statement. The map covering Pendle at an appropriate scale for navigating the public rights of way network is the Ordnance Survey Explorer OL21 South Pennines (1:25,000). This is available from all good bookshops or direct from Ordnance Survey.
You can also see public rights of way mapping on Lancashire County Council's Public Rights of Way map.
We have a limited range of powers in relation to public rights of way, and so we work closely with the public rights of way team at Lancashire County Council to deliver our service.
Our Public Rights of Way service
- Maintaining the surfaces of public rights of way, plus waymarking
- Protecting people's rights to use public rights of way, including removing obstructions
- Assisting land owners and managers with advice on their responsibilities, and with practical help, by replacing old stiles with pedestrian gates where needed for keeping livestock
- Processing applications to make legal orders to create, divert or close public rights of way
Volunteering opportunities
Most of our work replacing old gates and stiles is carried out by volunteers. The volunteers carry out these projects every Wednesday. The work involves quite a bit of digging and manual handling so it can be physically demanding, but if this does not put you off and you would like to give countryside access volunteering a try, please get in touch and we can arrange for you to join the group for a day.
If you have any enquiries about our services, email our Public Rights of Way team.
Lancashire County Council's Public Rights of Way Service
Lancashire County Council has a statutory duty to maintain public rights of way, to keep the definitive map under review, and to assert and protect the rights of the public. They:
- provide online public rights of way mapping
- process applications for rights of way to be added that are not currently shown on the definitive map
- process applications for the legal record of a right of way shown on the map to be changed
- process applications for temporary closures
- process applications by landowners for authorisation for new gates or stiles
- keep a register of applications to amend the legal record of a public right of way
- keep a register of landowner statements on accepted public rights of way across their land
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