Public Rights of Way - Public Path Orders Policy consultation

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This consultation has now closed.

We are consulting on a new draft Public Path Order policy. Public Rights of Way (PRoW) are types of public highway that are legally recognised and protected and include Footpaths, Bridleways and Restricted Byways. They allow members of the public to pass along them without permission, interruption, or obstruction at any time within the constraints of the route’s status. Public Path Orders (PPOs) are legal processes that change the definitive map and statement (legal record of PRoW within Barnet) by either diverting, creating or extinguishing paths.

They are subject to a range of acts, including the Highways Act 1980, the

We are consulting on a new draft Public Path Order policy. Public Rights of Way (PRoW) are types of public highway that are legally recognised and protected and include Footpaths, Bridleways and Restricted Byways. They allow members of the public to pass along them without permission, interruption, or obstruction at any time within the constraints of the route’s status. Public Path Orders (PPOs) are legal processes that change the definitive map and statement (legal record of PRoW within Barnet) by either diverting, creating or extinguishing paths.

They are subject to a range of acts, including the Highways Act 1980, the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and the Deregulation Act 2015.


What we are consulting on

We are now seeking your views on the draft PPO policy, which sets out the council’s approach to requests for changes to Public Rights of Way across the borough, including the criteria, requirements, approach to processing applications and charges. We will use the results from the consultation to inform the final PPO policy.


How to have your say

Please take the time to read our consultation document and the draft PPO Policy and then complete our online questionnaire.

If you would like to request a paper questionnaire or another format, please:

  • email highways.consultations@barnet.gov.uk or telephone 020 8359 4059
  • alternatively you can write to us at Highways Team, Regulatory Services, London Borough of Barnet, 2 Bristol Avenue, Colindale, NW9 4EW.

If you would like someone to help you complete the questionnaire or need more information, please contact us using one of the above methods.


What happens after the consultation closes?

The council will use the consultation findings to inform our final decision. We will publish the results of the consultation, our decision and how we are acting on the results of the consultation on this web page during April 2023.

This consultation has now closed.

  • We asked, you said, we did

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    We asked

    We asked for your views on the draft Public Path Orders (PPO) policy, which sets out the council’s approach to requests for changes to Public Rights of Way (PRoW) across the borough, including the criteria, requirements, approach to processing applications and charges.

    You said

    We had a total of 21 responses and overall the feedback was positive. The results include:

    • over 93% of those responding were Barnet residents
    • over 76% agreed that the proposed PPO policy made clear the process for adding, changing and removing PRoW
    • two thirds of respondents agreed that the proposed PPO policy clarified the council’s approach to maintain open paths and extinguishing blocked paths
    • over 80% agreed that the proposed minimum widths were sufficient
    • 57.14% agreed that the PPO policy made it clear the grounds on which interested parties can request additions, changes and removals of PRoW.
    • 68.75% greed that the process for dealing with council generated orders was appropriate
    • over 57% agreed that the determination process is fair to both applicants and PRoW users. 14% disagreed
    • 46.67% agreed that the proposed charges were a fair reflection of the work involved for the council.

    Comments overwhelmingly welcomed the new policy, although some mentioned that the policy could be easier to understand.

    We did

    The responses demonstrated that residents consider Barnet Council to be fair, considerate and clear in what we are trying to achieve, although some improvements are required in making the policy easier to understand by removing jargon.

    The council has agreed to adopt the PPO Policy.