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Decision of the Public Inquiry into DMMO's
The decision bundle of papers on the public footpath orders that were subject of the public inquiry arrived this morning, I do not know how many of you will have been sent copies, it is about 38 sheets of paper all double sided with print.
The inspector's report is quite comprehensive and interesting reading.
The inspector was not happy with the presentation of the order plans, she considered all had deficiencies , being not properly annotated in the prescribed manner, no widths shown, having no date, no key panel, unlabelled grid lines, no revision number and no clear title indicating the order to which each plan relates. (paragraph 14)
The inspector (in paragraph 90) said:-" It is somewhat disturbing that in this case the council did not accurately survey these routes before making the orders and that the omission of the widths was not a mistake but something that was intended to be added at a later date. However it is for there Council to examine its own procedures; the issue for me is simply whether there is evidence to show the width of each route such that I should propose to modify the orders accordingly. As a matter of principle I have no difficulty in doing so, although Paragraph 8 of schedule 15 of the 1981 Act requires that any such modification would need to be advertised", The rationale behind each decision made is listed in the report. The end result is as follows:-
Order A Gypsy Grove proposed for confirmation subject to modifications that require advertising - as footpath No.24 - I thought that might have been altered to a restricted byway.
Order B Western District Cut - as a footpath No.26 - this one has a no cycling TRO already.
Order C Cemetery Road (the extension section to Hill Lane) ditto but ALTERED to be RESTRICTED BYWAY No.91 - that is the one most people were concerned about.
Order D Northlands Gardens - proposed for confirmation subject to modifications that require advertising as a footpath No 92 - this is a maintainable footpath with a TRO prohibiting cycling.
Order E Millbrook station to central station - ORDER NOT CONFIRMED - this is already a publicly maintainable highway, so I suggest it is a case of now trying to get city council to install foot/cycle signs and give up on trying to register it as a public right of way on Definitive Map which seemed fairly pointless anyway.
Order F Church End - proposed for confirmation subject to modifications that require advertising but ONLY FOR PART ALTERED to be RESTRICTED BYWAY No.22
Order G Church End link - ORDER NOT CONFIRMED - inspector not clear on what basis Order was applied for, route is an accommodation road for access to garages and neighbouring properties, but is open at each end as a through route. It is not a maintained highway and ownership is unknown. There was not considered enough use by the general public either in terms of use or regularity of use to designate it a public right of way.
Order H Silverdale Road proposed for confirmation subject to modifications that require advertising - inspector considered there to be just sufficient evidence to confirm route as a footpath No.94
Order J Archers road to Ranelagh Gardens - proposed for confirmation subject to modifications that require advertising as a footpath No.95 - this route was only built in early 1980s and was adopted a s a footpath only. I did not contest this routes at inquiry.
I reiterate ALL the routes A,B,C,D,F,H,J that are proposed for confirmation WITH MODIFICATIONS need to be advertised again AND ORDERS E AND G SHOULD NOT BE CONFIRMED.
This now means that the modified Orders will be advertised by Notice (in the Daily Echo again presumably). A copy of the notice will be copied to the city, the objectors (including anyone who has made a statutory representation), the applicant, other people who were given permission by the inspector to speak at the inquiry and any other people who have asked for a copy of the decision.
If no objections are received to the proposed modifications, the secretary of state or Inspector will make a final decision, which will confirm the order with the modifications they previously proposed. The final order decision will be sent to all the people who received a copy of the interim decision.
If there are objections to the modifications, they will be considered by the Secretary of state or Inspector. Dependant on the number and content of objections received, there may need to be an inquiry to consider the evidence they contain. If only a few objections, they may be dealt with by written representations.
Having considered objections, a final decision will be made.
Hope this is all clear enough. , please pass on to anyone interested
Eric Reed
ex Chairperson, Southampton Cycling Campaign
13th January 2007
How to make claims for rights of way in Hampshire
How to make claims for rights of way in Hampshire? Click HERE for applications to change the definitive map.
Public Rights of Way 2006
Objections to Changes of Status Routes Update
Here is the updated list of routes in contention that are to be subject of an inquiry by The Panning Inspectorate on Tuesday 12 September 2006
The public inquiry into DMMO's in Southampton has been closed.
| Location | Description |
| Gypsy Grove footpath no 24 - Modification Order no 9 | Footpath known as Gypsy Grove, adjoining Shirley road and extending north eastwards for a distance of 550m from its junction with Shirley road GR 440369 113282 to its junction with St James road GR 440717 113704 |
| Western District Cut footpath no 26 Modification order no 11 | Footpath known as western District cut, adjoining Shirley road and extending north westwards for a distance of 45 m from its junction with Shirley Road GR 440587 113008 to its junction with Stafford road GR 440617 113033 |
| Cemetery road Footpath no 91 Modification order no 12 | Footpath known as Cemetery road footpath, adjoining cemetery road and extending south westwards for a distance of 240m from its junction with Cemetery road GR 441377 113588 to its junction with hill Lane GR 441198 113432 |
| Millbrook Station Footpath no 16 Modification Order no 15 | Footpath known as Millbrook station footpath adjoining Millbrook railway station and extending south-eastwards for a distance of 1480m from Millbrook Rail Station GR 439843 112596 to Southampton Railway station GR 441219 112120 |
| Church end footpath no. 22 Modification Order no 16 | Footpath known as Church end adjoining Shirley road and extending north -eastwards and south-eastwards for a length of 375m from its junction with Shirley Road GR 440121 113573 to its junction with Janson road GR 440369 113367 |
| Church end link Footpath no 23 Modification order no 17 | Footpath known as Church end Link adjoining church End and extending north-eastwards for a distance of 110m from its junction with Church end GR 440341 113400 to its junction with Treeside Road GR 440432 113459 |
| Silverdale road Footpath no 94 Modification order no 18 | Footpath known as Silverdale Road footpath adjoining Silverdale Road and extending westwards for a distance of 70m from its junction with Silverdale road GR 441261 113214 to its junction with Hill Lane GR 441199 113215 |
| Archers Road footpath no 95 Modification Order no 19 | Footpath known as Archers Road footpath adjoining Archers Road and extending northwards for a distance of 40m from its junction with Archers Road GR 441456 113091 to its junction with Ranelagh Gardens GR 441440 113126 |
Any cyclists who have used these routes, please let us know;
We want to protect our rights and not have routes used for years by cyclists (like Cemetery Road to Hill Lane) declared and signed as Public Footpaths alone.
Copies of the relevant forms can only be obtained from the Rights Of Way Section Southampton City Council on: 023 8083 3987/4704