Hampshire County Council Item 11

Regulatory Committee

12 March 2008

Proposed dedication of bridleway rights on part of Footpath 6 in Kings Worthy Parish

Report of the Director of Recreation & Heritage

Contact: Colin Piper Ext. 6043 [email protected]

This item has been added to the agenda with the agreement of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman under Section 100(B)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, as an item of urgency because of the impending sale of the County Council property known as Hinton House.

HIGHWAYS ACT 1980

25. Creation of footpath, bridleway or restricted byway by agreement

(1) A local authority may enter into an agreement with any person having the necessary power in that behalf for the dedication by that person of a footpath, bridleway or restricted byway over land in their area

An agreement under this section is referred to in this Act as a "public path creation agreement"

(2) For the purposes of this section "local authority" -

(a) in relation to land outside Greater London means a county council, a district council...

(3) Before entering into an agreement under this section a local authority shall consult any other local authority or authorities in whose area the land concerned is situated.

(4) An agreement under this section shall be on such terms as to payment or otherwise as may be specified in the agreement and may, if it is so agreed, provide for the dedication of the footpath, bridleway or restricted byway subject to limitations or conditions affecting the public right of way over it.

(5) Where a public path creation agreement has been made it shall be the duty of the local authority who are a party to it to take all necessary steps for securing that the footpath, bridleway or restricted byway is dedicated in accordance with it.

1. Summary:

1.1 At the last meeting of the Regulatory Committee, on 14 February 2008, members agreed to the dedication of bridleway rights on County Council owned property at Hinton House, Kings Worthy. The purpose of this report is to get members authorisation to modify the extent of the proposed right of way at its north-western end.

2. Recommendation:

2.1 That the decision of the Regulatory Committee contained in minute 196(a) be rescinded.

2.2 That the County Council dedicates a 3 metre wide bridleway on part of the route of Kings Worthy Footpath 6, between points A-B-C, as shown on Map 1 attached to this report.

2.3 That the County Council dedicates three spurs, two as bridleways with a width of 3 metres and one footpath with a width of 1.5 metres, from Hinton House Drive to the parish playing field, as shown on Map 2 at points X, Y, Z attached to this report.

3. Landowner:

Hampshire County Council

The Castle

Winchester

Hampshire

SO23 8UJ

4. Background:

4.1 The proposal agreed by members at the last committee meeting allowed for a width of 6 metres for the proposed bridleway where it adjoined the parish playing field. The plan that accompanied the report accurately showed a total width of 12 metres of County Council owned land, but the report stipulated a lesser width of 6 metres for the proposed bridleway. This inaccuracy was caused by an error in scaling the width from the Ordnance Survey plan.

4.2 Following discussions with other interested parties it has been decided that, rather than dedicating a wide strip of land that includes several mature trees, a more practical solution would be to dedicate three short spurs leading into the playing field from the bridleway along the driveway. These three spurs are shown in detail on the plan attached to this report. Entrance points Y and Z already exist on the ground as routes used by the public and point X has been included to maximise the full potential of the cul-de-sac bridleway.

4.3 It is proposed that entrance point Z would be dedicated as footpath only with a width of 1.5 metres, to reflect what is already on the ground. This path connects with a well-used footpath around the southern perimeter of the playing field. Entrance point Y is currently the main access point to the parish playing field and it is proposed that this be dedicated as bridleway with a width of 3 metres. It is proposed that entrance point X is also dedicated as bridleway with a width of 3 metres.

Section 100D - 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 has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

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

File: Kings Worthy Dedications - Rights of Way Office, Mottisfont Court, Winchester