There's a fsrm track that links the Waskerley Way to Oxen Law farm (near Bee Cottage Farm) which everyone's used for years but the current landowner keeps obstructing it saying it isn't a right of way. Durham County Council is looking for evidence of uninterrupted use to assert the right. If you can help, pm me and I'll send you the evidence form.
The track runs north from here.
[url= https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Oxen+Law+Farm/ @54.802787,-1.890859,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x487dd2e4b08607b9:0xe0f9358cb4d1cd32][/url]
From Durham County Council:
I hope you don’t mind me getting in touch, but I have been passed your contact details by our Public Rights of Way team as someone who may be able to help us with a problem we are experiencing with a landowner adjacent to the Waskerley Way.
In essence the landowner of Red House farm (shown on the attached map between Burnhill junction and Whitehall station) is attempting to obstruct the use of the road from the Waskerley Way to Oxenlaw. Whilst the road is shown on the Ordnance Survey maps as a road with other public access our records to support this are not as robust as we would like.
In order to assist us to protect and assert the rights of the public to use the track unhindered we are trying to gather evidence of unobstructed use over the last 20 years and would be grateful for any help you could give us in this matter by asking your local members if they have any knowledge of this area and if they do, would they consider completing one of the attached user evidence forms.
Any help you could give us in this matter would be greatly appreciated but if you wish to discuss further please feel free to get in touch.Kind regards
Ian Raine
Senior Engineer – Asset Management
Strategic Highways
Neighbourhood Services
County Hall
Durham
DH1 5UQ
Tel 03000 268100
Hi Neil YGM
Hmm we have had a look but we have never actually riden down there. Will speak to some other friends who have ridden round the area for years.
Thats just up the road from me. Never ridden there though.
I just looked at some old maps in case they shed any light.
The 1955 os map suggests it is an unmetalled unfenced 'road'. The bartholomew map from 1897-1907 says it a footpath or bridleway with the caviat that this does not necessarily mean there is right of way. The os map from this time thinks its a road of some sort.
Check out the old maps here:
http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=15&lat=54.8066&lon=-1.8948&layers=11
Only the one inch or half inch maps will be any good to see what you need. There is a tab at the bottom left of the map screen that shows the map legend.
Cheers,
STS.
Hi, that is a track I know very well having ridden it regularly since I took up mountain biking in the 1980's. Please let me have a copy of the evidence form. My email is in my profile
Thanks
Grim