Hampshire County Council ITEM

Regulatory Committee

30 November 2005

Application for a Public Path Extinguishment Order for

Footpath Nos.1a & 2a in the Parish of Amport

Report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage

Contact: Andrew Jones: Ext 6891 E-mail: [email protected]

Orders for the Extinguishment of Footpaths and Bridleways may be made under Section 118 of the Highways Act 1980, as amended by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, on the grounds that:-

"the path or way is not needed for public use"

Members must be satisfied that it is expedient to extinguish the right of way, having regard to the extent (if any) to which it appears to them that the path or way would, apart from the order, be likely to be used by the public, and having regard to the effect which the extinguishment of the right of way would have as respects land served by the path or way.

1. Summary

1.1 Hampshire County Council has received an application to extinguish Footpath Nos.1a & 2a in the Parish of Amport, as shown on the attached plan.

1.2 It is proposed that the application for extinguishment of Footpath Nos.1a & 2a be accepted under Section 118 of the Highways Act 1980, as amended by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, on the grounds that the footpaths are no longer needed for public use.

2. Parties to the Application

2.1 The application has been made by Mr & Mrs N Harvey of Weyhill Nursery, Amesbury Road, Weyhill, Andover, Hants SP11 8ED.

2.2 Mr & Mrs Harvey are the freehold owners of the majority of the land affected by both footpaths.

2.3 The written agreement of the owners of land crossed by the paths proposed to be extinguished has been obtained.

3. The existing route

3.1 The route of Amport Footpath 1a begins on the southern verge of the Amesbury Road at Point A (GR 429892 145880) and proceeds in a generally south easterly direction across a field to the top of an embankment bordering the A303(T) at Point B (GR 429905 145860).

The length of Amport Footpath No 1a affected by the proposal is approximately 22 metres.

3.2 The route of Amport Footpath 2a begins on the southern verge of the Amesbury Road at Point C (GR 430124 146110) and proceeds in a generally south easterly direction between nursery greenhouses to the top of an embankment bordering the A303(T) at Point D (GR 430255 145980).

The length of Amport Footpath No 2a affected by the proposal is approximately 180 metres.

4. The reasons for the application

4.1 The construction of the A303 trunk road severed a number of pre-existing footpaths. Those rights of way to the south of the new road were joined by new cross-paths into a logical network, but Footpath Nos.1a & 2a were left as unconnected `orphans' to the north of the road reserve and are effectively redundant parts of the current network.

4.2 An underpass, some 300 metres to the west of Footpath No.1a, provides a safe and convenient means of crossing from one side of the A303 trunk road to the other.

4.3 The current route of Amport Footpath No 1a has clearly not been used for some time:

There is a stile at Point A, but the boundary hedge has grown up and totally obscured it.

The whole length of the route between Points A and B is covered in scrub.

The embankment bordering the A303(T) is topped with a 3ft fence and planted with thick tree cover.

4.4 The current route of Amport Footpath No 2a has clearly not been used for some time:

There is a stile at Point C, and the majority of the route between Points
C and D has been cleared of vegetation, but there is no sign of wear on the surface of the path reservation.

The embankment bordering the A303(T) is topped with a 3ft fence and planted with thick tree cover. The remains of a stile and waymark can be seen at the southern terminus of the path.

The landowner can only recall three walkers attempting to use this path during the nine years that he has owned the nursery, and two of these had suspicious motives for being on site.

5. Summary of Consultation

The proposal was sent out for formal consultation on 16^th August 2005 to the following representative groups:

5.1 Local Member - Cllr Patricia West
The proposal has the support of Councillor West

5.2 Test Valley Borough Council
TVBC has no objection to the proposal

5.3 Amport Parish Council
Amport Parish Council has no objection to the proposal

5.4 Rights of Way Area Officer - Central
The proposal has the support of the Area Rights of Way Officer

5.5 HCC - Highways Management
Highways Management has no objection to the proposal

5.6 HCC - Environment Department
No response to consultation

5.7 Hampshire County Archivist
The Archivist did not find evidence of any higher rights shown on historic maps

5.8 The Ramblers Association
The Ramblers Association has no objection to the proposal

5.9 The Open Spaces Society
The Open Spaces Society has no objection to the proposal

5.10 Land Access & Recreation Association (LARA)
No response to consultation

5.11 British Horse Society
No response to consultation

5.12 British Driving Society
No response to consultation

5.13 National Farmers Union
The National Farmers Union supports this proposal

5.14 Cyclists Touring Club
No response to consultation

5.15 Trail Riders Fellowship
No response to consultation

5.16 All Wheel Drive Club
No response to consultation

6. Comments on Consultation Replies

6.1 Comments received from user groups as a result of the consultation exercise have been either neutral or favourable - there were no objections to the proposal.

7. Criteria for Assessment of the Proposal

7.1 There is only one relevant criterion against which the proposal for extinguishment of a public right of way must be considered - is the path or way no longer needed for public use?

7.2 Members must be satisfied that it is expedient to extinguish the right of way, having regard to the extent (if any) to which it appears to them that the path or way would, apart from the order, be likely to be used by the public, and having regard to the effect which the extinguishment of the right of way would have as respects land served by the path or way.

8. Conclusion

Officers are of the opinion that the proposed diversion satisfies the criteria required by section 118 of the Highways Act and that it is expedient for the Council to make an order in that:

8.1 Amport Footpath Nos.1a & 2a are no longer needed for public use.

8.2 The extinguishment of these paths will not deprive the public of the means of access to points of interest along their length.

9. Recommendation

It is recommended that an Order be made under Section 118 of the Highways Act 1980 for the extinguishment of Footpath Nos.1a & 2a in the Parish of Amport, on the grounds that they are no longer needed for public use.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and which have been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of the report.

NB the list excludes: (1) published works and (2) documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act:

File: ATJ/EXT/Amport Footpath No.1a & 2a
Rights of Way Office, Mottisfont Court, Winchester