Holbeach and Fleet DMMO 392 - Register of DMMO applications

The Council determined not to make a modification order on the following grounds:

1. Documentary evidence suggests the route has been a feature in the landscape since the dismantlement of the railway in the 1960s, but this alone does not support the existence of a public right of way over the Application Route. 
2. A Highways Statement and Map were made under section 31(6) of the Highways Act 1980 and were deposited with the County Council on 15.08.2013, which did not mark any routes along the line of the Application Route. This was followed by a Highways Declaration which was lodged with the County Council on 15.11.2017, these provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate the landowner had no intention to dedicate the route as a public right of way.
3. User evidence suggested there had not been consistent use of the whole of the Application Route by the user witnesses spanning the relevant statutory term identified, which was 1997-2017. This was due to the installation of a barrier gate across the whole width and the verges of the track, which was subject to the Application Route, at some point during the relevant statutory term. The barrier gate caused users to leave the track to manoeuvre around the gate. Notices at either end of the way stating, ‘Private Road, No Parking’, also indicate a lack of intention to dedicate the way as a public right of way.
4. For the above reasons a public right of way over the Application Route cannot be reasonably alleged to subsist by statutory dedication. 
5. The consideration of a relevant common law term, spanning from 1980 to 2023 also fails for the same reasons given above.

No appeal has been made.

Not applicable

Holbeach Fleet application and map