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England and Wales decisions
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Roxlena Ltd v The Ramblers' Association & Ors, R (On the Application Of) [2026] EWCA Civ 534 (07 May 2026)
The Court of Appeal held that a four-month foot-and-mouth closure did not necessarily defeat 20 years’ public use for statutory dedication of rights of way.
The High Court dismissed a challenge to a modified definitive map order for Bridleway 18 in Little Berkhamsted, holding the Inspector’s reasoning was lawful and adequate.
The Inspector erred in law by applying a de minimis test to the question of actual enjoyment and focusing solely on the four-month intermission rather than the entire 20-year period. The correct legal test requires an evaluative judgment of whether the public’s use over the whole period was sufficient to alert a reasonable landowner that a continuous right was being asserted. The cause of intermission (statutory restrictions for foot and mouth disease) is relevant and does not defeat the presumption of dedication. Accordingly, the Inspector’s decision cannot stand and must be quashed.
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Wilkins & Anor v Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [2025] EWHC 2435 (Admin) (25 September 2025)
The High Court dismissed a judicial review challenge to the confirmation of a Definitive Map Modification Order recording the width of Restricted Byway AB27 in Kent.
Challenge to confirmation of a definitive map modification order for Restricted Byway AB27 failed. The court upheld the inspector’s width determination and use of OS maps.
The Ramblers' Association, R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [2025] EWHC 537 (Admin) (11 March 2025)
The High Court quashed an inspector’s refusal to confirm a footpaths order, holding that a four-month foot and mouth interruption had been wrongly treated as fatal.
The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal about a definitive map modification order, holding that the section 56 presumption did not control the review process.
The inspector applied the correct legal approach by considering whether the alternative route was correct on the balance of probabilities, rebutting the presumption against change, and took into account all relevant evidence including map evidence; the claimants' grounds were rejected as the inspector's reasoning was rational and lawful.
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The inspector did not make a mistake of fact regarding the 1951 highway map, properly weighed the historical evidence including early maps and the Greenwood map, and was entitled to conclude that the evidence did not show on the balance of probabilities that a public vehicular right of way exists between X-Y. The inspector's approach was within the bounds of public law and her expertise, and there was no public law error justifying quashing the order.
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McLeish & Anor v Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs & Anor [2024] EWHC 532 (Admin) (14 March 2024)
The High Court dismissed a challenge to a definitive map modification order confirming a public footpath alignment in Doddington, Kent.
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