Does anybody know if this footpath exists as a right of way?

 

Streetmap Link

 

It is blocked by a locked gate at the moment.

 

m@

it is on that map - but you will have to speak to the man from the council to get a 'definitive' answer!

 

They will have a 'public rights of way' officer who has access to the latest 'definitive map' that shows exactly what's what! The path in question could well have been diverted or stopped up since that streetmap was produced!

 

Phone the council on Wednesday!

...

...

 

Phone the council on Wednesday!

 

Wednesday is too late - will be miles away by then

 

m@

Does anybody know if this footpath exists as a right of way?

 

Streetmap Link

 

It is blocked by a locked gate at the moment.

 

m@

 

I walked through there earlier in the year and the gate was open. On the OS map beyond was a public right of way so I just walked straight through. Only got as far as where the canal ends though as beyond it is fenced off which I was a bit miffed at. Not sure if this is related to the Cromford restoration which could be why it is no longer accessible.

 

Graham.

No idea on the legal status of this path, but I've been to Langley mill Basin dozens of times over the last 25 years. To my knowledge this has always been a locked compound with access to berth holders only

No it doesn't, the right of way is the other path marked to the west. The OS have put both on the map

 

The right of way crosses the bypass by climbing up the embankment and walking across the road. This is not a route I would recommend, go through the culvert that once carried a railway line and argue the toss if the land owner challenges you. That said, following the canal route towards Ironville is not easy.

 

I'm fairly used to acting dumb when found on someone's land and it isn't a public right of way, but this did stretch my abilities in that direction.

Edited June 5, 201214 yr by magpie patrick

If you zoom back to the next scale on the map it clearly shows both paths in pink which identifies them as public rights of way :- http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=444500&y=347500&z=120&sv=langley+mill&st=3&tl=Map+of+Langley+Mill,+Derbyshire

Edited June 5, 201214 yr by David Schweizer

but if you zoom back another level it only goes a very short distance (probably as far as the boatyard) only!

 

local authority would need to clarify the situation i think!

The closest thing to the Definitive Map that is available online is the DCC GIS which if you navigate through* will get you to the attached image, which shows this as a FP

 

 

The enquiry form link is http://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/leisure/countryside/access/rights_of_way/enquiries/default.asp which will allow you to report what does sound to be an obstruction to a RoW.

 

(* - Navigating through council online maps is usually a quite frustrating experience)

There has never been a public right of way along this route. Before the stretch was restored by the ECP&DA and the Langley Mill Boat Comapny the land had been opencasted and was lying waste; before that there was a working colliery wharf and railway over much of the site.Going further back a tramway feeding the Nottingham canal was laid along the site.At this stage the whole area was a wasteland and the canal had totally disappeared from just above the derelict lock. When industrial development was taking place alongside the basin - about 12/15 years ago- on the site of Beggarlee wharf the plans showed buildings built to the edge of the water so there was no ROW shown on the definitive map at that stage None of these uses lend themseleves to being shared by a pedestrian ROW.The question of whether or not a ROW exists has been deliberately engineeered by someone with an agenda they seem to prefer not to make public and this has been backed by a pushy footpaths officer for reasons about which we can only speculate. The whole site encompassing the Great Northern Basin and the Langley Mill Boat Co. moorings and dry dock has been brought back from dereliction to provide both a well used public amenity and a useful and much needed boaters' facility. Public access to the moorings will destroy any security and lead to a exodus of boats and the Erewash does need as many boats as possible. Regards, HughC.

<snip>The whole site encompassing the Great Northern Basin and the Langley Mill Boat Co. moorings and dry dock has been brought back from dereliction to provide both a well used public amenity and a useful and much needed boaters' facility. Public access to the moorings will destroy any security and lead to a exodus of boats and the Erewash does need as many boats as possible. Regards, HughC.

 

Of course, no point having public access to a public amenity eh!

Wednesday is too late - will be miles away by then

 

m@

 

Try coming back in about 40 years it will be totally navigable right up to Cromford by then.

Try coming back in about 40 years it will be totally navigable right up to Cromford by then.

shall I laugh now or in 40 years? can't see it happening to be blunt!

My late father used to say that a right of way had to be walked at least once a year or it could cease being a right of way. Indeed, there was one footpath near our home at Packington, near the current end of the Ashby Canal, which he used to make sure he walked akong every year for that very reason. Was he correct, or was this an "urban myth"?

that is correct athy but it is only a might not a certainty. Foxton Boats access road was always locked on christmas day for this exact reason to keep it as a private road.

that is correct athy but it is only a might not a certainty. Foxton Boats access road was always locked on christmas day for this exact reason to keep it as a private road.

 

The terminology can be confusing here - a road may be a private road but still have a public right-of-way running along it! Usually this would mean a public right to go along the road on foot only.

 

Where someone permits people to walk along a private road or path, as at Foxton, this is known as a permissive path, and the landowners may indeed close the path occasionally to re-assert their right to do so, and so that it cannot be claimed as a public right-of-way.

the road was just that, no public footpath as such just an open access except xmas day. when the gate was locked shut and a sign was on it stating the reason for its closure

The terminology can be confusing here - a road may be a private road but still have a public right-of-way running along it! Usually this would mean a public right to go along the road on foot only.

 

Or a horse!

 

Where someone permits people to walk along a private road or path, as at Foxton, this is known as a permissive path, and the landowners may indeed close the path occasionally to re-assert their right to do so, and so that it cannot be claimed as a public right-of-way.

 

But it is a right of way, a bridleway (which is a form of highway):

 

Map link

 

the road was just that, no public footpath as such just an open access except xmas day. when the gate was locked shut and a sign was on it stating the reason for its closure

 

Presumably to prevent motor vehicles from using it, not to stop walkers, horses or bicycles?

 

m@

Or a horse!

 

Only if the right-of-way in question is a bridle way, rather than a public footpath.

 

I was talking generally here, not about the specific case at Foxton.

 

But it is a right of way, a bridleway (which is a form of highway):

 

Map link

 

Is that the path that is being talked about? In that case it would be illegal to try to prevent access to walkers or riders.