Hertfordshire County Council Rights of Way Service Rosalinde Emrys-Roberts, Head of the Definitive Map team in Herts County Council’s Rights of Way department reports on progress over the past 12 months.

Urban alleyways—rights, records and 2026 At the recent Ramblers meeting I gave a presentation about how the Ramblers can help ensure that urban alleyways, green lanes and white roads are not lost if the cut-off date proposed in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 is implemented. Now that the Deregulation Act has been made following royal assent on 26 March 2015 work will now begin on the necessary regulations. These will include provisions which will aim to ensure that routes such as urban alleyways which are currently in regular use are not lost inadvertently. However, if a route is not recorded on the Definitive Map and Statement, nor is it shown in the List of Streets then it is more likely to be lost if there is no evidence that it is being used. If you wish to help, you can check whether the routes you use are recorded on either the Definitive Map and Statement, or the List of Streets. Details of how to do this were given in my article for Stile (June 2014). You would then need to mark on a map any which are missing. Please put your name on the map also. The map could then be sent to your Footpath Secretaries to collate for each parish before sending on to the County Council. However, be prepared—you may be asked to collect evidence (such as from users) to support the routes you put forward

Definitive Map 2015 The Definitive Map Team is currently working towards producing the next edition of the Definitive Map, ‘DM2015’, in December. Work is going on in the background to make sure that the Definitive Statements have been correctly transferred into the new database, and any changes to rights of way on the map are correctly shown. It will be published in January 2016.

Definitive Map (DM) changes since October 2014 The following routes have been added or existing rights of way changed. I have listed these by district and described the status of the route and its location using a Philips Street Atlas— A-Z. The routes listed should now be open and signposted for use. Please contact us if you find anything that needs to be reported. A new footpath has been recorded leading westwards from New Road north of Berkhamsted to join the footpath running northwards from Berkhamsted Castle. East Herts The southern end of a footpath which joins Frogmore Hill near Sacombe Corner Wood has been diverted a little further to the west of Pumping Station cottages. A bridleway east of Latchford has been diverted to run parallel with the disused railway line. A new footpath has been recorded leading eastwards from Bryan Road, Bishop’s Stortford. The line of the footpath south of Hixham Hall near Patmore Heath, Albury has been diverted within the field to run near the stream rather than the wood. A footpath has been recorded in Little Hormead linking two footpaths south west of the church. North Herts A footpath has been recorded in Baldock leading northwards from Chilvers Bank to join a bridleway known as Back Lane. A bridleway has been diverted around a property in Barkway at its western end by its junction with Royston Road and The Joint. A footpath running to the south of Mincinbury, Shaftenhoe End has been diverted further south around the property. The footpath running south from the High Street, Hinxworth still connects with the High Street, but has been diverted to around the edge of the garden. The footpath south of Bury Farm, Nuthampstead has had a minor diversion around the property, hardly changing its junction with Bury End Road. St Albans A footpath has been recorded linking Heath Farm Lane, Bernards Heath to The Limes in St Albans. Footpaths have been recorded running around and through Ambrose Wood, Ambrose Lane, Harpenden. Five footpaths have been recorded in Roebuck Wood, Stevenage east of the B197 near the football club. Three Rivers A new footpath has been recorded leading southwards from Gade View Gardens, Abbotts Langley to Hazelwood Lane, and two old disconnected lengths of footpath removed as part of the development. Bridleways and a footpath have been recorded at Long Valley Wood (Croxley Village Green) with a bridleway now running south along All Saints Lane and east to Harvey Road, and another across the village green to Mill Lane, as well as adding a footpath from the last bridleway to join Frankland Road. The old line of the footpath diverted in 1964 between Leveret Close and the North Orbital Road has been removed from the map. The connection of Green Lane (a BOAT) to Wildhill Road by Grubbs Lane at Woodside south of Hatfield Park has been defined and recorded.