The Government plans to repeal a cut-off date for registering historic paths in a move that walking enthusiasts hailed as a “fantastic step” for people to enjoy nature. In an announcement timed to mark the traditional Boxing Day ramble, the Environment Department (Defra) said the removal of the deadline for registering thousands of miles of rights of way meant they would no longer be lost to the public.
Some of these paths, well used by walkers, cyclists and equestrians, date back hundreds or even thousands of years, but are not officially recorded or protected. Once recorded as rights of way and added to the definitive map, paths are protected under the law for people to use.
The last government said it would repeal a 2026 deadline for registering more than 40,000 miles of unregistered paths amid what campaigners described as a “race against time” to get them on the official map. But it later reversed that decision and instead extended the cut-off date to 2031 for recording historic rights of way for people to ensure access along them, a deadline that the new Government has now said it would repeal when parliamentary time allowed.
Defra said local authorities had struggled under the burden of recording historic rights of way before the 2031 cut-off date. Minister for access Baroness Hayman said: “Our countryside and green spaces are a source of great national pride, but too many people across the country are left without access to the great outdoors.
