Forums Forums Wirral Information Wirral info Wirral’s Rights of Way Map

"We’ve been informed by Wirral Council’s Rights of Way Officer, Robin Tutchings, of the latest “long awaited” definitive map showing Wirral’s ‘official’ permissive routes and off-road cycle tracks."
Make sure you use the hidden menu on the top left of the web-page to view the key. To the best of Robin’s knowledge the map is accurate, but if you have any suggestions for corrections then please contact Robin at [email protected].

Please note, this only covers WBC and not the whole of the Wirral Peninsula.
Although it does not cover every single path, it is the best one that I've seen to date.

https://mapping.wirral.gov.uk/WML8/map.aspx?mapname=PRoW

I find the following map very handy https://footpathmap.co.uk/map

The link isn't working DD.

https://footpathmap.co.uk/map/?zoom=7&lng=-1.85000&lat=53.00000

Thamks for the link DD, it is way better.

When it came to reporting the flooding on the old rail track by lever brothers he was very helpful and had an excellent job done. Robin is obviously a cyclist at heart.

It doesn't show a lot of cycle routes. The one along the Dock road from four Bridges that looks as if it might get extended after teh converted warehouses for instance. There are also a number along the A41 between New Ferry and Bromborough / Eastam made from wide pavements being shared with cycle paths.

There are also cycle routes along the A41 in Rock Ferry and New Ferry if you can call them that. Marked off bits of road. In New Ferry blocks have been placed to keep motorists off them.

Email Robin, and hopefully he will correct the map and add them routes.

The Ramblers Association have been a massive exercise of checking footpaths on old maps against current OS maps, so far they have discovered 49,000 miles of footpaths missing. The Government has agreed to to allow until 2026 to re-establish lost footpaths.

I've got to say that this would appear to have been a conscious decision by Ordnance Survey to delete old footpaths off their maps.

The Wirral has at least 27 miles of lost footpaths. I find this surprising as I thought Wirral Footpaths and Open Spaces Society had been coordinating walking Wirral's footpaths on a regular basis since 1888. It was them that took over maintenance of the footpath signs and stiles as well as clearance.


https://www.ramblers.org.uk/get-involved/campaign-with-us/dont-lose-your-way-2026.aspx

http://www.wirralfootpaths.org.uk

I can understand that paths may get overgrown and disappear if not used but how does it lose its public rights of way status?

I was reading a blog from OS last week from about public rights of way, and it seems the decision to delete footpaths from their updated maps is down to each local authority which they then amend in their next publication.

"Public rights of way information is sent to us by local authorities, and a right of way doesn’t necessarily mean a footpath on the ground. We’re also often asked about blocked or overgrown rights of way. These need to be reported to your local authority too and, if any changes on our maps are required, they will pass that information along."

Someone asked them about their maps showing a public rights of way but saying there was no actual right of way or footpath there, and their response was: "Rights of way are managed by the Local Authority, who will advise us any amendments, which we will then include in the next revision of our paper mapping products. Our Explorer mapping depicts Public Rights of Way with green dashed lines as you say. Of course, Rights of way are liable to change and may not be clearly defined on the ground (there doesn’t need to be a physical path on the ground for a public right of way to exist). You can always check with the relevant local authority for the latest information. If there is a conflict between our mapping and the Local Authority’s Definitive Map, the Definitive Map should take precedent.

As Rights of Way are managed by the Local Authority, any changes/errors should be reported to them and they will then instruct us to update our map to reflect changes to the Rights of Way."

They compared their map with the local authority map in question, and OS found they both matched.
https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/blog/2018/07/right-to-roam-public-rights-of-way/

Where are the 27 miles of missing paths in Wirral? I would ike to check them out.
Wirral Footpaths and Open Spaces Society says: "The Society needs your support to ensure that the paths in the Hundred of Wirral are walked regularly and that any problems are reported to the local authorities concerned."

Unfortunately, it seems that it is the local authority that can't be arsed with them.

Quite the opposite, the Council gave the contract to the society to maintain them under a mutual agreement.

OS were semi-privatised (Private company wholly owned by Government) and basically have to manage their own sources of income, off-loading the footpath mapping to councils is an obvious thing to do, especially as income from the footpaths was only 5% of their revenue.

If someone exclusively uses a footpath for other purposes, after a certain period of time they can claim rights but there are numerous different laws governing this and it becomes a bit vague and contradictory. I know of one Wirral right-of-way that was diverted purely because a relative blocked it off and there was no evidence to show the previous time it had been used as a right of way to contradict the owner. The alternative route had become the norm for walkers so it was formalised.

Sometimes the Council will divert a footpath on request if it is relatively simple and remains convenient, but as their purse strings are pulled together this will happen less and less.

On other occasions builders have been forced to rectify problems where they have blocked right of way. Near to Cleaver hospital was one of these places, someone bought a new home to discover that people had the right to walk straight through their property, I can't remember the exact outcome, it droned on for quite some time.

I might get involved in this Society, my other voluntary humping and dumping work has come to a bit of a lull for the next year or so while we are negotiating contracts with different parties and I need the exercise.

This is confusing.
So when the Wirral Footpaths and Open Spaces Preservation Society says "The Society needs your support to ensure that the paths in the Hundred of Wirral are walked regularly and that any problems are reported to the local authorities concerned."
Do they mean report it themselves because, as you say, they are the authority concerned, or do they mean WBC?


So by following the councils mapping of footpaths, it is the council/society concerned that is at fault for not mapping them.


Should they leave them on new additions of their maps leading many people down dead ends that local councils have built on or blocked off?


This again seems like a cock up from the councils planning allowing the building in the first place.
What is confusing me is, who has the complete authority to map these public rights of way?


Good luck DD.

Incidently, do you know where these 27 miles of lost footpaths on the Wirral are? I'd like to check them out.

The way I see it

Public rights of way come about under common law, you don't require planning permission to create a right of way, in fact I doubt if there is a proper process to create a right of way in terms of unmade footpaths. It is approached from the other direction, you have right of way everywhere unless there is something that legally says you do not.

For the public to maintain a historic right of way, the right of way must be shown to be in continual use by the public (as opposed to eg householders that live at the end of the path).

If there is an established boundary then you can't start crossing that and call it a right of way, however if there is an established footpath (mapped or otherwise) used by the public then you can't create a boundary that blocks it.

There is no singular authority - it depends on historic and continual usage.