For 25 years, British Horse Society (BHS) has been fighting an impending deadline to save thousands of routes from being lost for ever. Changes to the law, introduced by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, meant that historic off-road networks would be extinguished on 1 January 2026, if not formally recorded on the Definitive Map.
While the former UK government did postpone this deadline and our current government consequently announced its intention to repeal it on Boxing Day 2024, a year has already gone by and BHS is concerned by the lack of action to reflect this decision.
Without an official repeal, we still face losing over 40,000 miles of unrecorded paths. For equestrians, this would be devastating. Currently, horse riders have access to 22% of the public rights of way network and carriage drivers have just 5%.
That’s why BHS is calling for change. Mark Weston, Director of Access at the charity says: “We continue to press for legislation to officially repeal the deadline. We want to see the government take decisive action. We don’t feel that this is a big demand. Instead, it’s a necessary change that needs to be made before it’s too late.”
