Claim Footpath between end of The Avenue and ER275

Updated 25th February 2025

The short trail between the bottom of the Avenue and the footpath ER275 is not currently registered as a footpath on the Public Rights of Way (PROW) definitive map. It therefore does not have the protections necessary to ensure it will always be available for future generations to use.  This trail provides access from the Avenue to ER275 and then onwards to intersects ER28 – a main footpath which connects to the whole network of footpaths in the village. We understand that this absence was probably due to the fact that this land was originally considered part of the Avenue ie a Highway.

There is a mechanism to register and protect unregistered footpaths.  The Parish Council have therefore started the process to include this stretch on PROW’s definitive map.  Hence protecting its use for future generations.

For this to happen we need to prove to Public Rights Of Way PROW that the path has been used for over 20 years, by the public and to do this we require evidence in the form of user statements.

If YOU have used these paths freely in the past and are willing to testify to this please download and fill in this  User evidence statement.

It is not the easiest of forms, please read each question carefully and answer appropriately. One individual does not need to have used the track for the full 20 years. The community as a whole must prove that the track was used over the whole time span.  Please read each question carefully and answer honestly.

Send the competed form to parish.clerk@stmargaretspc.co.uk  or drop it in the letterbox at the village hall attention Parish Clerk. An accompanying letter is optional.

This process is bureaucratic and time consuming.  The current waiting time time is around 5 years, before the forms  are even processed, at which stage you could potentially be interviewed to confirm your statement.  More background on how it works is here : Definitive-map-modification-order-form-and-notes 

Printed copies of the form are available from any member of the council. 

You can  download this map THE AVENUE – Maps, etc., showing Disputed Footpath to ER 275  as a PDF or save the picture below to include with the form.   The path in question is in red.

It is always interesting to look at our Footpath network here