Twenty-two years ago an application was made to North Yorkshire County Council to downgrade to footpath status part of the 3.5-mile long bridleway that runs west from Hurgill, Richmond, past the Applegarths, and on to the Richmond to Marske top road. This would, of course, have the effect of making the remaining section a useless cul-de-sac.
After eighteen years of inaction, whilst stiles unlawfully obstructed the bridleway, NYCC finally made the downgrading order on 23 June 2005. Only now has the order, with the many objections to it, been sent to the Secretary of State for determination. This was only after eight months of concerted pressure by the Byways & Bridleways Trust, including formal complaints against officers.
On 25 June 2008, the Secretary of State’s independent inspector, Mrs Heidi Cruikshank, issued her decision letter in the order to downgrade part of the Brompton to Skeeby bridleway, just a couple of miles away, to the east of Richmond. The Byways & Bridleways Trust had strongly opposed this closure proposal at the public inquiry, and our case won the day. The Skeeby bridleway is now open to horse riders, cyclists and the disabled for the first time in decades.
Now we have to fight North Yorkshire County Council and the local landowners all over again to save this very important ancient highway, and get the illegal obstructions removed. Once again, this order falls to be determined by an inspector at a public inquiry, and although we do not yet have the date, it is likely to be in the Spring of 2010.
The Byways & Bridleways Trust has built up a considerable body of knowledge and expertise in bridleway downgrading and extinguishment cases, but we do need assistance with the inevitable operating costs involved with the preparation for and attendance at a complex, multiday inquiry. Every one of these cases matters because every route is important, and fighting all the cases helps us do better in the most important ones.
The order is entitled: ‘downgrading of bridleway no. 20.57/5 (Part) Richmond and bridleway no. 231/31 Marske to footpaths, near East and West Applegarth Farms modification order 2005. (23 June 2005.)’
Location of the route: OS Landranger map 92. Hurgill is in grid square 1601. The bridleway runs largely westwards, through Whitcliff Wood, past Applegarth, to the road at GR 114020.
Comments (12)
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thank goodness someone is out there fighting for the cause…..
good on ya’!
Q
Good work B&BT.
Why would the council want to downgrade it to a footpath anyhow?
Is the B&BT local to that part of the UK or is it a national organisation? cos it aounds like a very good organisation to support!
Q
Well done BBT, National organisation ChristowKid, does a lot of great work, is not partisan by user group just fights landowners and councils to protect bridleways and byways from being overwhelmed by apathy and theft within some rural communities for those who wish to use them. BBT Journal is a good resource for anyone interested in protecting the historical man made trails that make riding so much more natural.
Good work.
There doesn’t seem to be a link to their website:
http://www.bbtrust.org.uk/
This link to the subscriptions / donations section might be useful for people keen to support the BBT in their work:
http://bbtrust.org.uk/subs.html#Anchor-Alternatively-49575
Good work by the BBT. I can’t give much time but if money helps with expenses that would seem like the next best thing.
thanks for clarification Max
Q
where do I sign.
The problem is organisations like the CTC are not as consistently good at fighting these problems where rights of way are wrongly classified and in this case although the Ramblers do a good job moving obstructions they had no problems using these routes as access was made available for walkers so removing the impediments to cyclists and horse riders would not necessarily be as high on their list of priorities as cyclists or horseriders would prefer. BBT do a lot of work getting paths and old tracks recorded so the law can be used to protect them… I wish i was a Paul Getty grade of wealthy philanthropist as I’d give them a shed load of money.
I live here (Marske) and the downgrading of this route would be a dreadful loss of the only offroad route available to cyclists and horse riders along the Swale valley at this point. The downgrade has been pushed for by extensive lobbying from the owners of West Applegarth farm. The reality is that this is an important historic route linking the town of Richmond with the Village of Marske. (These historic valley routes often avoided the valley bottom as these were prone to flooding and more dangerous for travellers) Since the war the route has passed (probably incorrectly) through 2 fields at West Applegarth were narrow stiles obstruct access. In reality the historic roadway clearly followed the contour line and could be easily reinstated with only minor impact to West Applegarth farm. No doubt others have much more information on this issue but it seems to have come about becuase of vested interests and an unsympathetic council.
A Public Inquiry was held at Northallerton on March 2nd to review the Order relating to the possible downgrading of the bridleway from Richmond to Clapgate Bank near Marske. The decision of the Inspector has just been announced and the bridleway is to remain a bridleway – the downgrade order was NOT confirmed. This just decision puts an end to over 30 years of wrangling on this route and fighting the possible downgrade to a footpath. MTB members of the local outdoor club, Swaledale Outdoor Club, worked closely with the BBT and the British Horse Society to achieve this outcome for all bridleway users. It will doubtless be a little time before the four notorious stone stiles at the heart of the case are replaced with bridle gates but that will then enable this delightful route from Richmond into Swaledale to be used to it’s full potential. Hurrah!
Excellent result, I have walked this loads of times and could never understand why there were stiles on a bridleway. Councils always seem to take the landowners part in any ROW dispute and not follow the law as neutral arbiters as they should. I hope the Inspector is authorised to kick council officer ass!