Campaigners hail move to ditch 2031 cut-off date for recording historic paths 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.
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.
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.
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.
Defra said local authorities had struggled under the burden of recording historic rights of way before the 2031 cut-off date.
