RightOfWayValue
CodeList:RightOfWayValue
Rights of way information for England and Wales has been sourced from Ordnance Survey 1:25 000 Scale Colour Raster mapping and inferred from Ordnance Survey road network data.
The allowable uses for RightOfWayValue are summarised in the table below; this reflects the accepted legal rights for public rights of way (https://www.gov.uk/right-of-way-open-access-land/use-public-rights-of-way) Further rights of use are also possible and are described in the Additional rights to use a RouteLink– England sub-section.
In all circumstances, information from the Local Highway Authority takes precedence, and any local signage should always be observed. For example, temporary restrictions may exist that override rights of way or access rights in Access Land.
In Scotland, rights of way do exist, but they are not included within the OS Detailed Path Network product as for recreational purposes, they are superseded by rights under the Land Reform Act 2003 (see Rights to use a RouteLink – Scotland).
Classification of the designated rights of access and use assigned to the RouteLink.
| Value | Description | Confirmed allowable users |
|---|---|---|
Bridleway | A route where there is a right to travel on foot, on horseback, to lead a horse and to ride a bicycle | Pedestrians, horses, cyclists |
Byway Open To All Traffic | A highway open to all traffic. | Pedestrians, horses, cyclists, motorised vehicles |
Core Path | A route in Scotland identified as part of the Core Path network. Not populated in release 1. | Not applicable |
Footpath | A route where there is a right to travel on foot. | Pedestrians |
None | A route where no permissive or conventional right of way has been identified. Use may be allowed if the route has been identified as a cycle route (see NationalCycleRoute, OtherCycleRoute), as part of a RecreationalRoute or as lying within an area of Access Land. | See NationalCycleRoute, OtherCycleRoute, part of a RecreationalRoute or as lying within an area of Access Land |
Normal Permissible Uses | No known restrictions on pedestrians, cyclists or horses being ridden. Restrictions may apply to vehicles. | Pedestrians, horses, cyclists – used for public roads without a restriction |
Other Route With Public Access | A route that is the responsibility of Local Highway Authorities and maintained at public expense. All Other Routes with Public Access (ORPAs) have rights for pedestrians. Beyond that, any particular ORPA may, or may not, have rights for cyclists and equestrians, and may or may not have rights for motor vehicles. OPRAs are sometimes known as unclassified unsurfaced roads (or unclassified country roads). | Pedestrians1 |
Permissive Bridleway | A route where the landowner has permitted travel on foot, on horseback or leading a horse, and to ride a bicycle. This right may be withdrawn by the landowner. | Pedestrians, horses, cyclists |
Permissive Path | A route where the landowner has permitted travel on foot. This right may be withdrawn by the landowner. | Pedestrians |
Restricted Byway | A route open to all traffic except mechanically propelled vehicles. Formerly known as Road Used as Public Path (RUPP). | Pedestrians, horses, cyclists |
Other rights may exist, but these will need to be determined from the Local Highway Authority.
Right of use on local roads
Most RouteLink features with a descriptiveTerm of Local Road will have a RightOfUse value of ‘Normal Permissible Uses’. However, in some cases, a more restrictive value applies; when this is present, this more restrictive value should be used to determine who may use the route.
Additional rights to use a RouteLink – England and Wales
The preceding table summarises the type of user who may travel along a specific RouteLink in England and Wales where a right of way exists. The right to use a RouteLink may also be indicated by one or more of the following logical attributes in the table below being set to indicate:
| Value | Description | Confirmed Allowable users |
|---|---|---|
adoptedByNationalCycleRoute = TRUE | A link part of the National Cycle Network | Pedestrians, cyclists |
adoptedByOtherCycleRoute = TRUE | A link part of a Cycle Network that is not part of the National Cycle Network | Pedestrians, cyclists |
adoptedByRecreationalRoute = TRUE | A link part of a Recreational Route | Pedestrians |
withinAccessLand = TRUE | A link within Access Land | Pedestrians. Note that for Private Roads where the only right to use is because the road is in Access Land, there may not be a right to use the road itself. |
These values may co-exist, for example, a cycle route may pass through an area of Access Land and be coincident with a Restricted Byway.
Rights to use a RouteLink – Scotland
For ease of use of the data in routing applications, all RouteLink features in Scotland have the value of the AccessLand attribute also set to ‘TRUE’ even though the concept of Access Land is not relevant to routes in Scotland.
In Scotland, the rights of access have been established by the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003; these are described in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code (https://www.outdooraccess-scotland.scot/). The following is an extracted summary: The following is an extracted summary:
A summary of the access rights:
Everyone, whatever their age or ability, has access rights established by the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003. You only have access rights if you exercise them responsibly.
You can exercise these rights, provided you do so responsibly, over most land and inland water in Scotland, including mountains, moorland, woods and forests, grassland, margins of fields in which crops are growing, paths and tracks, rivers and lochs, the coast and most parks and open spaces. Access rights can be exercised at any time of the day or night.
You can exercise access rights for recreational purposes (such as pastimes, family and social activities, and more active pursuits like horse riding, cycling, wild camping and taking part in events), educational purposes (concerned with furthering a person’s understanding of the natural and cultural heritage), some commercial purposes (where the activities are the same as those done by the general public) and for crossing over land or water.
Existing rights, including public rights of way and navigation, and existing rights on the foreshore, continue.
The main places where access rights do not apply are:
Houses and gardens, and non-residential buildings and associated land
Land in which crops are growing
Land next to a school and used by the school
Sports or playing fields when these are in use and where the exercise of access rights would interfere with such use
Land developed and in use for recreation and where the exercise of access rights would interfere with such use
Golf courses (but you can cross a golf course provided you don’t interfere with any games of golf)
Places like airfields, railways, telecommunication sites, military bases and installations, working quarries and construction sites
Visitor attractions or other places which charge for entry
Local authorities can formally exempt land from access rights for short periods. Local authorities and some other public bodies can introduce byelaws.
Access rights do not extend to:
Being on or crossing land for the purpose of doing anything which is an offence, such as theft, breach of the peace, nuisance, poaching, allowing a dog to worry livestock, dropping litter, polluting water or disturbing certain wild birds, animals and plants
Hunting, shooting or fishing
Any form of motorised recreation or passage (except by people with a disability using a vehicle or vessel adapted for their use)
Anyone responsible for a dog which is not under proper control
Anyone taking away anything from the land for a commercial purpose
Statutory access rights do not extend to some places or to some activities that the public have enjoyed on a customary basis, often over a long period of time. Such access is not affected by the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 and will continue.
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