Definitive Maps

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LJR69

LJR69

Well-Known Member
For those who don't know Definitive Maps are the source of truth for all Public Rights of Way (PRoW's) in the UK. They are maintained by the Rights of Way Officer within each local council and I find are an important tool to help cross-reference when route planning.

While sites like RidewithGPS, AllTrails, and Strava do a fairly good job when route planning, it can sometimes be a bit hit and miss when using them to find some natural trails to ride in unfamiliar areas. The reason being that they don't always correctly reflect the type of trail. There have been times when I get to a trail that OSM Cycle, or RwGPS has let me plan as part of a route only to find it's a Public Footpath, or Restricted Byway, and not a Bridleway, or Byway Open to All Traffic.

As I live in West Berkshire I thought I'd post in here the links to the online and interactive Definitive Maps for West Berkshire, Hampshire (to my south) and Oxfordshire (to my North). If you want to add any for your own areas then post a link and I'll add them to this post.

Hope you find them useful and interesting.

RowMaps: http://www.rowmaps.com (searchable database for Ordnance Survey Maps)

Definitive Maps by Authority
Devon
https://map.devon.gov.uk/dccviewer/MyLocalPaths/
Gloucestershire
https://maps.gloucestershire.gov.uk/MapThatPublic/login.aspx?user=PROW_public&treeid=81@82@83
Hampshire
https://maps.hants.gov.uk/rightsofwaydefinitivemap/
Hertfordshire
http://webmaps.hertfordshire.gov.uk/row/row.htm?layers=[1:0,1,2,3,4]
Northamptonshire
http://maps.northamptonshire.gov.uk...=NCC,layers=Row|,search=,fade=false,mX=0,mY=0
Oxfordshire
https://publicrightsofway.oxfordshire.gov.uk/Web/standardmap.aspx
Suffolk
https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/roads-an...view-definitive-maps-of-public-rights-of-way/ (pdfs)
https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/assets/R...-and-Docs/definitive-map-suffolk-parishes.pdf (Parishes)
West Berkshire
https://gis2.westberks.gov.uk/webapps/OnlineMap/?vln=PUBLIC RIGHTS OF WAY
 
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classic33

classic33

Leg End Member
There should also be a hard copy, with descriptions, held by the council. Usually held at their major library and office.
 
D

Deleted member 23692

Guest
The definitive map and statement (DMS) is only proof positive of the existence of a legally recorded public rights of way for England and Wales only, and are maintained by the respective Highway Authority. This normally is a legal duty of the county council, unitary authority and some national park authorities (by agreement). It's not specifically maintained by 'the rights of way officer' depending on the authorities departmental structure.

There is only one legally sealed DMS per surveying authority and any other copy, such as those held by borough/district councils, parish councils and libraries have no legal bearing or significance. Often the online map is just a representation of the authority's digital working copy and should not be relied upon 100%. Even a photocopy of the sealed paper map and statement will have no legal significance.

Regardless of the above and on the assumption that you've found an up to date, correct and accurate DMS for your particular area, here's a few facts why it's of limited use for cyclists.
  • There is no legal duty to manage/maintain bridleways for cycle use, only for that of horse and foot (Countryside Act 1968 S 30). So just because you've found a BW on a map there is no guarantee it's of any use to you as cyclist.
  • Restricted Byways (there's no such thing as a Restricted Bridleway :smile:) along with Byways Open to All Traffic (BOAT) are the only two that include wheeled traffic in their legal status. So these may be of more use. But should a route have a certain status it only bestows a right of usage and not an ability to do so, so it may not be physically useable.
  • Due to the process thereby the original map was created shortly after WW2 there will be alignment errors, omissions and incorrect inclusions.
  • Unsurfaced Unclassified Country Roads (UUCRS) are unsurfaced public highways and these do not appear on definitive maps as they are highways and but not public rights of way.
  • Ratione Tenurae roads are highways maintained at private expense and again these will not appear on a DMS.
  • Cycle routes, cycleways, cycles tracks have no PRoW status (and often no legal status) so, again, do not appear on a definitive map. In fact the Cycle Track Act 1984 can see the conversion of a FP to a cycle track and it's subsequent deletion from the DMS due to it's loss of PRoW status.
  • Sustrans routes may often use a public footpath by permissive agreement with the landowner. This will not change the legal status and so the higher rights will not be depicted on the DMS.
  • Certain legal processes can only change the route of a PROW on the ground, and a separate legal event order (LEO) is needed to modify the DMS accordingly. So legal usage on the ground may not be consistent with that depicted on the DMS, until the map is corrected - LEOs are batched periodically and can include all those for the last year, decade or whatever period.
So whilst the DMS does have a use it is not the 'been all and end all' for cyclists.

OS explorer maps (on-line vis bing maps) will depict pretty much most of the above sufficiently accurate enough for the vast majority - Green dots for UUCRs, RT's, ORPA's and other rideable routes. Orange dots for Sustrans/NCN routes, although they are notoriously badly mapped. In fact, producing an OS map can help diffuse situation if challenged.. on the assumption you are following a route that is depicted as unsalable

However no one source will be 100% accurate, and some are woefully bad (as anyone who uses the appalling bad Komoot will testify), but with a combination of RwGPS, OCM, Trialforks, online PRoW maps etc , countless websites and, above all, local knowledge should all be used in conjunction
 
Jenkins

Jenkins

Legendary Member
Location
Felixstowe
Suffolk does things slightly differently - no interactive map, instead the individual map for each parish has been put up as a PDF - https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/roads-an...view-definitive-maps-of-public-rights-of-way/

You just need to know which parish(es) you are going to be in download the map(s), so there's a separate PDF showing all the parishes - https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/assets/R...-and-Docs/definitive-map-suffolk-parishes.pdf
However, this doesn't have any major roads or towns marked on it so it's not the most user friendly system and you'd need to download multiple maps for anything more than a short ride.
 
S

sheddy

Legendary Member
Location
Suffolk
Has anyone been involved with the UK mapping project to get all rights of way properly recorded before 2025 ?
 
D

Deleted member 23692

Guest
sheddy said:
Has anyone been involved with the UK mapping project to get all rights of way properly recorded before 2025 ?
Click to expand...
Yes.
But it's not a 'project', it a legally defined cut off date for the public to register new claims to add historic routes that were possibly missed off the DMS when originally produced.

They do not have to be fully investigated, processed and/or determined by the cutoff, only lodged and registered with the HA.

And it's 2026
 
andrew_s

andrew_s

Legendary Member
Location
Gloucester
The Gloucestershire maps are at https://maps.gloucestershire.gov.uk/MapThatPublic/login.aspx?user=PROW_public&treeid=81@82@83

There's a site here with PRoW data for 116 areas: https://www.rowmaps.com/
I get a request for updated maps from the chap behind it once a year or so.

Public Rights of Way are getting added to the National Street Gazetteer, so when that's done, it will become the definitive national source. There is a cut off date for completion, after which the authorities will get fined for non-compliance, though I'd have to ask when it is.

In view of @Ffoeg's comment about Unsurfaced Unclassified Country Roads (UUCRS), I'll think about adding a "public highway" layer to the Gloucestershire map
 
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D

Deleted member 23692

Guest
sheddy said:
The Ramblers Assn are taking donations to help fund the work https://e-activist.com/page/68845/action/1
Click to expand...
That is so misleading as it implies that they'll no longer be a mechanism to add any paths to the map , which is simply incorrect as the cut off is only for historical routes in existence before 1949 that were missed of the original maps in the 50's. Paths will still be able to be claimed if there is evidence of 20 years public usage without force, secrecy or permission... like that happy couple in the vid were presumably doing.

Additionally, I doubt very very much if the Ramblers will bother about anything other than footpaths, so they'll be little/no gain for cyclists by funding them. However the British Horse Society, Bridleways and Byway Society, and local bridleways groups will offer more use to CycleChat members.

As background, The government's commitment to the right to roam (Open Access) was not popular with land managers. To balance that, the [then] Countryside Agency was tasked with looking at the future of rights of way, and endeavoured to get unrecorded routes on the definitive map, then close the map. If there was good historical map and documentary evidence for an old right of way that could be used, then it should be on the map. Once closed the landowners would be safe from unexpected claims for historic routes on their land, which would make them very happy.

This CoAg project, called Discovering Lost Ways, and was halted in 2008 after seven years, with only five potential rights of way being found - at a cost of £4.5m to the public purse. I can't remember if these lucky 5 ever got added to a DMS as things went very quiet, very quickly. In short, it did relatively nothing, and the costly and time consuming legal process to get these historic claimed routes added to the Def Map is still the same. Anyone who's ever worked in Rights of Way could have predicted that!

More gen in the Guardian article for 2008 - https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2008/apr/23/conservation.endangeredhabitats
 
Venod

Venod

Eh up
Location
Yorkshire
Reading this thread has prompted me into reporting a blocked route which the wife and I tried to walk yesterday, we gave up in the end and used the adjacent field as it seems everyone else has.

This route is a lane, it is not marked as a PROW or Bridleway, but it is marked as a leisure route on the OS map, it was rideable but is now overgrown.

I have reported it to the council but I don't know if they are responsable for keeping it clear.
 
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