The "2031 cut-off" of the Definitive Map

The "2031 cut-off" of the Definitive Map

You may have heard there is a risk that some historic tracks, paths and ways across the whole of England, which are perhaps no longer used on a daily basis but are considered to be part of the local history, may be lost forever.

The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 introduced a “cut-off” which included a final ‘closure date’ for adding certain historic ways to the Definitive Map of Public Rights of Way, which means that rights over certain routes which existed before 1949 and which aren’t recorded on the Definitive Map by 1st January 2031 will be extinguished.

Update 27 December 2024:  On 26 December 2024, Government announced it intends to repeal the "2031 cut off" (Link to gov.uk press release: Government steps in to save historic rights of way from being lost to the nation - GOV.UK).  No date for the repeal has yet been announced. 

It is important to note, however, that public rights of way already shown on the Definitive Map are unaffected and no recorded rights will be extinguished by this change.

To check whether any particular route is already recorded, you can view the original Definitive Maps at Shire Hall. Alternatively, an electronic representation of the Definitive Map can be checked here: Rights of Way Map. (Important: This is not the definitive map but our attempt to show the data in an electronic format.)  The electronic map can also be used to see the locations of routes for which claims have already been submitted.

Will there be any exceptions to the 'cut-off'?

There are likely to be exceptions to a blanket extinguishment of documentary-based pre-1949 rights, and these will be contained in associated ‘guidelines’ to the legislation; however, these have not yet been published by Defra/Government.

It is currently anticipated but has not yet been confirmed (and so is subject to change) that rights will be preserved over routes which are still in regular use, and where such an application for a DMMO has been made by 1 January 2031 (at least until such time as that application is investigated and resolved).

I've identified an unrecorded route - what can I do?

In order to help protect a currently unrecorded route, it is possible to submit an application to have it recorded - this is called a Definitive Map Modification Order (DMMO) claim. As applications to record routes onto the Definitive Map of Public Rights of Way may result in a legal order being made and a public highway being recorded across someone's land, they must be made on official forms (available from the County Council) and they must be supported by evidence that the claimed right exists - the process is “evidence based”, rather than being a “nice to have”.

Currently, applications can be supported by ‘user evidence’ or ‘documentary evidence’, or a combination of both. It is primarily applications based on pre-1949 ‘documentary evidence’ which are affected by this ‘cut off’ change of legislation.  Applications based on evidence of use will still be able to be made after the 1st January 2031.

Is there any rush to apply?

In order to help protect any currently unrecorded routes, they will need to be identified, the evidence collated, and the applications submitted before the 1 January 2031 cut-off. This may not be a quick process.

We are expecting an increase in the number of applications ahead of the cut-off date, so we would ask that you do not leave it too long before seeking to apply.

More information about the application process (including how to obtain the application forms) can be found at: Definitive Map Modification Orders | Highways (gloucestershire.gov.uk)