HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL Rights of Way Service

File Ref EH424MOD
HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
Rights of Way Service
Modification Order Application
Investigation Report
Throcking Lane to Ermine Street
Author Tom Ruszala
Date: 11 May 2016
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Application Details
An application has been made to record a Restricted Byway on the Definitive Map of Rights
of Way for Hertfordshire, running generally NE from Throcking Lane, Cottered to meet with
Ermine Street. An extract of the 2015 Definitive Map is attached (appendix A). It shows
where the route is and it is labelled Points 1 to 4. This application was made by Dr P D
Wadey on 22 June 2013.
Description of Route
The application route is located in the Parish of Cottered and Throcking in East Hertfordshire,
and runs for approximately 110 metres in a generally NE direction between points 1 and 2 of
the attached plan (appendix A) to where it meets the extent of the western edge Buntingford
Bypass Highway. From the eastern edge of the Buntingford Bypass (point 3) the application
route continues for a further 280 metres in a generally north east direction to a junction with
Ermine Street (point 4). The west end of the application route comprises of road verge
obstructed by shrubs and trees leading to a metaled roadway which terminates at a dyke
which separates point 2 from the Buntingford Bypass. The current width available from point
1 to 2 varies from 6 to 8 metres. The east end of the application route from points 3 to 4
comprises of a natural surface running parallel to a hedge/tree line through open field to meet
an access point from the roadway at Ermine Street adjacent to point 4. The current available
width is 7 to 8 metres.
Point 2 looking towards 3
Point 1 to 2
Point 4 looking towards 3
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Documentary Evidence
For each investigation, we check at least 10 primary sources of information for any historic
evidence relating to the application route. You can view the documents listed below at
Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies (HALS) or at the Rights of Way Service (ROW).
The documents are listed below with a reference number (if it has one) and where you can
find it.
For further information contact:
Hertfordshire Archive and Local Studies (HALS) 01438 737333 (or 01923 471333 from area codes 01923 and 020)
www.hertsdirect.org/services/leisculture/heritage1/hals/
Rights of Way Service (RoW) - 01992 555279 to make an appointment.
If you would like more information about documents and how they are important in
investigating public rights of way, please go to the Planning Inspectorate’s website and view
their Guidance Booklet for Definitive Map Orders: Consistency Guidelines.
See
http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/planning/countryside/rightsofway/rightsofway which also
gives details about related articles and case law.
Where the document shows information relevant to the area of the application route, it is
listed with the following information:
 The Document’s name, date and where it can be found (location and reference)
 Why we consider the document important when making our decision
 What is shown by the document in the area of the application route
 Investigating Officer’s comments
Please note that the following evidence was not considered as it was considered to be
incidental in relation to the existing Highways records.
Dury & Andrews Map, 1766 – Ref: HALS – CM26
Bryant’s Map, 1822 – Ref: HALS – CM88
Inclosure, Cottered 1806 – HALS – DE/X251
Tithe Map and Apportionment, Throcking 1841 – HALS Map DSA4/014/2 and
Apportionment DSA4/104/1
5. Inland Revenue Documents 1910
6. Definitive Map Records – the application route was left unrecorded on the early versions
of the Definitive Map as it was considered to be a major vehicular highway.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Please note that where there are no records for the document listed, this will be recorded as
“No records found.”
7. Railway and Canal Plans - No records found
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8. Ordnance Survey maps
Date:
1877 onwards
Ref:
HCC
8.1 Why we consider these documents important
The original surveys were carried out by Royal
Engineers at the time of the Napoleonic wars in
order to better plan the transportation of
ordnance around the country. It was only in the
early 20th century that the OS evolved to
become a public service that sold its mapping
information to the public. Since the 1960s this
mapping information has included public rights
of way, which are derived from each county’s
Definitive Map.
The Ordnance Survey has produced a series of
st
OS 1 Edition 1877
topographic maps at different scales notably the
one inch, six inch and 1:2500. The detailed,
large scale 1:2500 maps from the 1870s
onwards provide the best evidence of the
position and width of routes and the existence of
any structures on them. These maps provide
good evidence of the physical existence of
routes at the time the map was surveyed. When
compared with earlier, less accurate maps they
can help corroborate the existence of routes.
Ordnance Survey maps show features that
physically exist and may label routes as
nd
OS 2 Edition 1898
footpaths and bridleways etc. However, the
nd
disclaimer which has been added to all editions since the 2 edition maps (circa 1897/8 in
Hertfordshire), along with official guidance to the surveyors of the maps at the time, states
that the representation of any track or way is no evidence of a public right of way.
8.2 What is shown by these documents in the area of the application route?
The 1st Edition 1:2500 scale map from 1877 depicts the settlement at Corney Bury and the
A10 (Ermine Street) running from north to south. The application route is depicted as a
feature bounded by solid lines as part of land parcel 22 which is described as ‘Road’ with an
acreage of 6.753 by the Throcking Parish book of reference. Adjacent to the application
route an additional route appears to run north to a field boundary past plot 47 which the book
of reference describes as ‘Wood’. The 2nd Edition 1:2500 scale map from 1898 depicts much
the same as the 1st edition apart from the route running north now appears to be a single
solid line representing a field boundary between plots 47 and 46.
8.3 Investigating officer’s comments
The 1st and 2nd OS maps are evidence of the physical existence of the application route on
its current alignment since at least 1877. The maps however provide no evidence of the
status of the application route.
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9. Highways Maintenance Records
Date:
1899 and 1985
Ref:
HCC
9.1 Why we consider these documents important
Maintenance of a route by the public is strong evidence that it is a highway, although it
should be noted that not all highways are automatically maintainable at public expense.
However it is important not to confuse ‘maintainable’ (i.e. duty to maintain) with maintained
(i.e. works done). It should also be noted that lack of maintenance of a route does not
necessarily mean a route is not highway.
The Highways Act of 1555 provided that parishes and their inhabitants had the responsibility
for maintaining all existing public highways. The physical work was to be done by the
inhabitants and each parish had to provide an unpaid parish surveyor who was obliged to
keep a detailed account of public monies expended. This situation remained largely
unchanged until the 1835 Highways Act, which allowed parishes to combine into larger
groups for maintenance purposes. The Highways Act of 1862 allowed parishes to combine
into Highway Districts under Highway Boards and after 1878 Highway Boards could
amalgamate with Rural Sanitary Authorities. The Local Government Act of 1888 introduced
elected County Councils, which took over “main” roads, while after the Local Government Act
1894 new Rural District Councils took over all other roads. Responsibility for maintenance of
these roads was handed over to the County Councils in 1929.
Under the Highways Act 1835 pre-existing highways continued to be maintained at public
expense. Any highways established after that date needed to be ‘adopted’ to show they
were liable for repair at public expense. Highway Boards accounts from this period can
provide evidence of a route being maintained and is therefore strong indication of public
highway. Most routes referred to in this manner are now part of the county’s road network.
The County Council is required under the Highways Act 1980 to keep up to date a list of the
streets within Hertfordshire which are highways maintainable at public expense. There are
no rules or regulations about what information is required, or how it is to be presented or
amended. The County Council holds this information as part of the Hertfordshire Roads
Gazetteer, which is itself part of the Hertfordshire Roads Management Database. It is a
record of what is maintainable, not necessarily what is maintained. It should be noted that
whilst the information is referred to as the “List of Streets”, it is not held as a paper list but
kept electronically.
If there is evidence that the application route was a vehicular highway, consideration of
whether or not a route was recorded on HCC’s List of Streets has to be given due to the
effect of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 (‘NERC’). NERC
introduced legislation which automatically extinguishes all mechanically propelled vehicle
(‘MPV’) rights, unless they were exempted by one of the exceptions provided. One of these
exceptions applies to routes that were recorded on HCC’s List of Streets immediately before
2nd May 2006, provided that they were not already recorded as a public footpath, bridleway,
or restricted byway. Where there is evidence that a route was a vehicular highway, then
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under NERC the continued existence of any MPV rights will depend on whether this or any
one of the other exceptions provided is met.
9.2 What is shown by these documents in the area of the application route?
The Hertfordshire Highways (Main Roads)
No. 1 Order, 1899 was an order made by
Hertfordshire County Council declaring
certain Highways in the County of Hertford
to be Main Roads under The Highways and
Locomotives (Amendment) Act, 1878 and
The Local Government Act, 1888. The
Order transferred the maintenance of the
declared ‘Main Roads’ to the County
Council.
Under The Highways and
Locomotives (Amendment) Act 1878, a
Main Road was considered to be a ‘medium
of communication between great towns, or a
thoroughfare to a railway station, or
otherwise.
The Hertfordshire Highways (Main Roads) No. 1 Order, 1899
The application route was included within the order under number 23 and described as
follows:
“So much of the Highway from Cottered to Throcking and Buckland as is situate in the Parish
of Throcking, commencing at the boundary between the Parishes of Cottered and Throcking,
passing through the village of Throcking, and by Middle and Lower Farms, and terminating at
its junction with the Main Road from Puckeridge to Royston, near Corney Bury.”
None of the application route appeared on Hertfordshire County Councils List of Streets on 1
May 2006 (the date immediately before the commencement of the Natural Environment and
Rural Communities Act 2006 which stopped up all unrecorded vehicular rights except in
certain exceptions).
Additional Evidence Provided by Applicant
i)
Index Map for Hertfordshire of Main and County Roads c. 1927
A copy of this document is held by HALS (ref. Off Acc 732). This is a record of routes which
were taken over as ‘Main Road’s by the County Council. The application route from points 1
to 4 is coloured red and annotated 33 indicating that the County Council saw the application
route as a main vehicular highway connecting towns.
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ii)
Hertfordshire County Council Land Charges Map c. 1980
A photo extract was submitted of one of the maps held by HCC’s Land Charges section in
the 1980s. This shows the Buntingford Bypass and Ermine Street running parallel with the
part of the application route from points 3 to 4 in between. The application route is coloured
in yellow and labelled 3U1354. This suggests that this part of the application route was
considered to be vehicular highway maintainable at public expense at the time the map was
made.
iii)
Hertfordshire County Council Gazetteer 2013
An extract of the Hertfordshire Gazetteer was submitted which shows the part of the
application route between points 3 and 4 labelled as 3U1909/20 being maintained by
Hertfordshire County Council.
This demonstrates that Hertfordshire County Council
considered the part of the application route between points 3 and 4 as highway maintainable
at public expense since at least 2013.
9.3 Investigating Officer’s comments
The above Main Roads order from 1899 clearly shows that the application route was adopted
as publically maintainable highway with vehicular status by the County Council in 1899. The
additional evidence submitted by the applicant provides evidence that the County Council
continued to consider the application route to be highway maintainable at public expense
from 1927 through to 2013.
10. Highway Diversion, Creation and Extinguishment Records
Date:
1985
Ref: HCC
10.1 Why we consider these documents important
Most orders diverting or extinguishing rights of way were made under the Highways Acts.
The orders could be made by certain courts, which up until the mid-part of the 20th century
were the Quarter Sessions courts and were held 4 times a year. The Quarter Sessions
courts were superseded by the magistrates’ court in 1972. Certain orders can now also be
made by other authorities, such as a governmental department or local highway authority.
Orders relating to highways can also be made under other Acts of Parliament, such as the
New Towns Acts, the Housing Acts, the Town and Country Planning Acts or the Defence
Acts. Side roads orders are made under the Highways Acts to deal with changes to the local
highway network following the construction/improvement of a road. These can be made by
the government minister in respect of trunk roads, or by the highway authority in respect of all
other highways.
In all cases, these legal orders affect the public highway rights by creating, diverting and
extinguishing them. As these are legal documents they provide conclusive evidence of those
matters actually decided, but are not conclusive in relation to other matters.
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10.2 What is shown by these documents in the area of the application route?
In the mid-1980s Hertfordshire County Council planned and built the Buntingford Bypass in
order to alleviate traffic congestion through Buntingford. Part of the plans included the
Stopping Up and Diverting of other adjacent highways affected by the new Bypass.
The A10 London – King’s Lynn Trunk Road (Buntingford By Pass Side Roads) (No2) Order
1985 was made under the enabling powers of the 1980 Highways Act to:
(1) to carry out the improvement of highways
(2) to stop up highways
(3) to construct new highways
(4) to stop up private means of access to premises, and
(5) to provide new means of access to premises
Schedule 3 of the order stopped up part of the application route from points 1 to 3:
“U18 Throcking lane from the eastern boundary of the new trunk road south westwards for a
distance of about 140 metres.”
There are no records of the remaining length of the application route from points 3 to 4 ever
being stopped up.
The A10 London – King’s Lynn Trunk Road (Buntingford By Pass Side Roads) (No2) Order 1985 – Schedule 3
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The A10 London – King’s Lynn Trunk Road (Buntingford By Pass Side Roads) (No2) Order 1985 – Plan
The A10 London – King’s Lynn Trunk Road (Buntingford By Pass Side Roads) (No2) Order 1985 – Close up of
stopped up section of Throcking Lane Plan
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10.3 Investigating Officer’s comment
The building of the Buntingford Bypass led to part of the application route being stopped up
between points 1 and 3 (from the eastern boundary of the new trunk road). After the
completion of the Buntingford Bypass in 1987 the part of the application route from points 3
to 4 fell into disuse and was partly ploughed. There is however no records of the highway
rights between points 3 and 4 ever being stopped up and therefore in absence of any legal
orders it must be assumed that highway rights still exist over this part of Throcking Lane.
11. Additional Evidence Supplied by Applicant
As well as extracts of documents already considered above, the applicant submitted the
following items:
i)
Ministry of Food Valuation plan, The National Archives MAF73/18/8 &
MAF73/18/13
The National Farm Survey was set up by the Ministry of Food when a sharp reduction in food
imports at the start of the Second World War resulted in an urgent need to increase food
production. The purpose of the survey was to collect information about productive land and
so bring uncultivated land into productive use. The western part of the application route is
excluded from the farm holdings. The applicant states that they ‘have found no instances of
non-vehicular routes being given the same treatment (being excluded from the farm
holdings), save for routes for which applications for upgrading on the definitive map are in
hand’.
12.1 Additional evidence: Planning Ref: East Herts 3/13/1375/OP
In 2013 plans were submitted for the erection of 180 homes on a site between the
Buntingford Bypass and Ermine Street. The plans include within it a link road between the
two roads partly along the alignment of the application route between points 3 and 4. The
link road deviates from the application route adjacent to where it meets the eastern boundary
of the Buntingford Bypass.
Plans of development
Plans of development with
application route layer
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12.3 Investigating officer’s comments
The application route goes through an embankment on the east side of the Buntingford
Bypass and a planned football pitch before meeting the link road adjacent to the planned
dwellings. The ownership of the overall site between the Buntingford Bypass and Ermine
Street is divided between two different landowners. The western part of the link road
between points 3 and 4 deviates from the application route.
13. Contemporary Evidence of Use
13.1 Why we consider the evidence important
Evidence is generally provided through the completion of evidence questionnaires by users
and from information provided by the owner of the land. User evidence may support historic
evidence of a right of way. However, where there is no historic evidence of a route it is
possible for a public right of way to come into existence if it can be shown that members of
the public have used it ‘as of right’ without interruption (usually) for a period of 20 years. In
order for the public’s use of a route to have been ‘as of right’ it must have been:
 without force (e.g. not breaking down a fence to access the route)
 without secrecy (e.g. not just using the route when landowners were away)
 without permission (i.e. not having the permission of the landowner).
Unless there is historic evidence of rights as well, legislation requires there to be evidence of
20 years’ use which ends with a ‘date of challenge’ (section 31 of the Highways Act 1980).
The ‘date of challenge’ is the date at which the landowner challenges the use of the route
e.g. by putting up a notice. Where there is no evidence that use has been challenged,
section 31(7B) of the Highways Act 1980 specifies that the date of application should be
used as the end of the 20 year period.
Under common law a right of way can also come into existence in less than 20 years if it can
be shown that there was dedication of the route by the landowner and acceptance of the
route by the public.
Under Section 31, after a period of 20 years use, it is presumed that a right of way has come
into existence. Where a landowner can produce evidence to show that they have taken
steps to prevent the accrual of new public rights of way through use of a route by the public,
no such right will be dedicated. Such steps must be overt and make the public aware of the
landowner’s intentions. They can include placing and maintaining notices on site stating that
the route is not public or that it is used with permission; by erecting and locking gates; or by
telling people seen using the route that it is not public, etc.
In addition to placing notices on site, section 31(6) of the Highways Act 1980 (following on
from the Rights of Way Act 1932) allows landowners to deposit a map and statement with the
County Council showing the public rights of way across their land. Following this,
declarations need to be made regularly to the effect that no additional ways have since been
dedicated. It should be noted that making such deposits and declarations will not affect preexisting rights.
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Below is a summary of the evidence we have received, including a table showing the
information provided in the user evidence forms.
13.2 Summary of Evidence
At the time of the instigation no user evidence had been submitted. There are no section 31
deposits covering the area crossed by the application route.
Appendix
A – Extract of Definitive Map 2015 marked up with application route
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A
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