Rights and Responsibilities
Responsibilities of the County Council
Most public rights of way cross private land. The County Council as highway authority is generally responsible for maintaining them in good condition and signing and waymarking them.Durham County Council is responsible for:
- The accurate and continuous recording of public rights of way on the Definitive Map. This map may be inspected at County Hall in Durham. A copy can be supplied to parish councils on request.
- Processing Public Path Orders and Definitive Map Modification Orders, that may change the route or status of public rights of way on the definitive map.
- Signposting and waymarking of public rights of way.
- Maintaining the surface of public rights of way, including the control of natural vegetation.
- Maintaining most bridges over streams and rivers.
- Making grants to farmers or landowners towards part of the cost of maintaining lawful gates and stiles (25%). As stiles and gates form part of a landowner's fences, the responsibility for their maintenance falls to the landowner.
- Keeping public paths free from obstruction and reasonably convenient for public use.
Advice to Users
What you can do on Rights of Way?
- Footpaths: travel on foot only.
- Bridleways: travel on foot, horseback and pedal cycle.
- Byways Open to All Traffic: travel on foot, horseback and pedal cycle. They may also be used by vehicles, but do not necessarily have a 'sealed surface'.
How you use a right of way is important. You may only make a bona fide journey with a reasonable rest along the way.
On Rights of Way you can also:
- Take a pram, pushchair, wheelchair, (there may be physical structures which make use difficult, e.g. stiles on footpaths).
- Take a dog, preferably on a lead but certainly under close control.
- Take a short alternative route around an illegal obstruction.
- Remove an illegal obstacle sufficiently to get past.
Responsible use of the Countryside
When out in the countryside and using rights of way, there are a number of things you should do:- Enjoy the countryside and respect its life and work.
- Guard against all risk of fire.
- Fasten all gates.
- Keep your dogs under close control.
- Keep to public paths across farmland.
- Use gates and stiles to cross fences, hedges and walls.
- Leave livestock, crops and machinery alone.
- Take your litter home.
- Help to keep all water clean.
- Make no unnecessary noise.
- Take special care on country roads.
- Protect wildlife, plants and trees.
- If you drive into the countryside do not park your car where it can obstruct access.
- If you are in a party, walk or ride in single file and do not spread out beyond the path.
You can download Adobe Acrobat Reader from the Adobe website.
Out in the country where you can go and what you can do (74 pages, 418 kb)
The Countryside Code (2 pages, 274 kb)
You and your dog in the countryside (9 pages, 2.5 mb)
Countryside Access and the new right (2 pages, 300 kb)
My Trips
The Teesdale and Weardale Search and Mountain Rescue Team have recently launched a website My Trips for walkers and other users of the outdoors to leave details of their trips - the purpose of leaving this information is for public safety and to assist the rescue services in locating you in the event of an emergency.Recommended Maps
Ordnance Survey Explorer, Leisure and Landranger maps show most public rights of way but there may have been changes since the map was published.
Explorer OL 31 (W & E) - North Pennines, Teesdale & Weardale
Explorer 307 - Consett & Derwent Reservoir, Stanhope
Explorer 308 - Durham & Sunderland, Chester-le-Street & Peterlee
Explorer 305 - Bishop Auckland, Spennymoor & Newtown, Aycliffe Sedgefield & Crook
Explorer 304 (W) - Darlington & Richmond, Egglescliffe & Gainford
Explorer OL 19 (N) - Howgill Fells and Upper Eden Valley
Explorer OL 30 (N) - Yorkshire Dales, Northern & Central areas
The Definitive Map is the most reliable guide for Rights of Way.
Advice to Farmers / Landowners
Farmers and landowners need to:
- Know where public rights of way shown on the definitive map cross their land.
- Cut back overhanging and encroaching vegetation that affects public rights of way. Further information is contained in the following pdf file: Advice about overhanging hedges, trees and shrubs on the highway (2 pages, 216kb)
- Remember that it is illegal to cultivate or disturb any field edge footpath or bridleway.
- Maintain stiles and gates on paths across their land in a safe and convenient condition for public use. Small grants are available to help with the cost of maintaining legally approved stiles and gates.
- Ensure that footpaths and bridleways across fields are reinstated and marked on the ground to the correct width after ploughing or other authorised works. (Further advice is available).
- Ensure that paths across fields are kept free from crops. A range of minimum widths are prescribed by law depending on the path's status and location where no other evidence exists as to width. (Further advice is available).
- Byways, roads used as public paths and county roads must not be cultivated or disturbed under any circumstances.
Bulls
Landowners/occupiers must not allow any dairy bull over 10 months of age to range freely in any field through which a right of way passes, and must make sure that bulls of other breeds are accompanied by cows or heifers. Dairy breeds are Ayrshire, Jersey, Dairy Shorthorn, Kerry, British Friesian, British Holstein, Guernsey.
See the Dairy Breeds Bull Chart by clicking on the thumbnail above. Please note, the larger image may take a short time to download due to the increased file size (18 kb).
Cattle in fields with public access
Particularly relevant since the introduction of Open Access Land in England and Wales, guidance for keeping cattle in fields with public access, has been produced by the Health & Safety Executive - Agricultural Information SheetHSE 17EW (3 pages, 41 kb)
Landowners and farmers also need to:
- Obtain the agreement of the County Council before erecting stiles or gates in new locations along a footpath or bridleway. They can only be legally authorised under certain conditions, further advise is contained in the following pdf file:
Conditions for authorisation of stiles and gates on PROW (1 pages, 20 kb)
You may want to see our Guidance on stiles and gates for appropriate designs. - Make arrangements with the county council for paths which will be affected by drainage or other engineering works to be properly diverted on a temporary basis.
- Provide adequate bridges for all users where new ditches are made or existing ones widened.
Landowners and farmers may shoot on their land but not in such a way as to endanger the public. Never shoot across or near a public right of way when it is being used.
A Guide for Landowners and Occupiers
A useful leaflet entitled 'A Guide for Landowners and Occupiers' has been produced by the County Council and is available for free by contacting the Access and Rights of Way Section office on 0191 3833452 or alternatively can be viewed in a pdf format below:Public Rights of Way A Guide for Landowners and Occupiers (2 pages, 1.6 mb)
Section 31(6) of the Highways Act 1980 - Deposit of Statement, Maps and Statutory Declaration
Section 31 (6) of the Highway Act 1980 provides a mechanism for landowners to acknowledge the existence of certain Public Rights of Way across his or her land and to prevent new Public Rights of Way being created by "presumed dedication". Presumed dedication is where new Public Rights of Way are created following use of the route by members of the public, usually for a period of twenty years or more.The mechanism will not prevent the "creation" of rights of way arising from twenty years of use where all that use was prior to the submission of the landowners statutory declaration, nor of rights of way whose existence can be proved by reference to historical documentation. See the advice outlined on The Definitive Map webpage for further information
