Repeal of the 2026 cut-off
Posted on 4th March 2023 at 12:15
Changes to the law under the CROW Act 2000 meant that on 1 January 2026, public rights over thousands of routes would have been extinguished if they were not yet formally recorded on the definitive map, the legal record of rights of way. In February 2022 the Government announced that the cut-off date would be repealed, but it has not yet done so. Please write to your MP to encourage them to support the repeal legislation.
On 16 February 2022 the Government announced that it would repeal the 2026 cut-off date and is committed to finding a legislative opportunity to do so, as evidenced by statements made by Lord Benyon on 1/11/2022 and Trudy Harrison on 19/10/22. To date, however, the Government has not found such an opportunity.
We are particularly fortunate in parts of the East Riding in having access to a good and largely well-maintained network of off-road routes, but in England and Wales as a whole equestrians have access to only 22% of public rights of way. Accessing this limited network by road is increasingly risky because of ever-increasing amounts of motorised traffic, so the more that existing bridleways and byways can be connected by currently unrecorded routes, the safer the network will be for equestrians and other vulnerable users. Recording these rights of way is particularly important as they already exist in law. The BHS and other organisations and individuals are working hard to identify and record the routes over which rights exist, and is encouraging individuals to write to their MP to urge them to support the legislation needed.
You can use our letter here as the basis of your own letter to send to your MP (alter the wording as necessary), and you can find out who your MP is at Find my MP.
Tagged as: Access, Lobby your MP
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