Any clues to how much a trip to the magistrates etc. would cost?
Just wondering how much of a risk calling their bluff is?
Risky business just trying to call landowner's bluff, because I believe that once it gets into the legal chain the proposer is expected to continue it for its duration. This was a Public Inquiry before a government inspector, the County Council bought the action against the landowner because sufficient public pressure was bought to bear on them, this was by persistent work by the local walkers and Ramblers.
As a member of Shropshire County Council Local Access Forum I often feel disappointed by the lack of actual support from the local community and believe that councils could do a lot more if they knew that there is dissatisfaction amongst ratepayers about the level of access to our countryside. There is plenty of complaints about landowners blocking paths but not enough about the access network being developed properly for the 21st century.
There is little understanding or perhaps willingness to admit to the level of
'Corruption of the Definitive Map' during it formation, the level of legal proof required to change the DM is out of proportion to that which created it, so now what would seem like 'common sense' to repair mistakes from the past is inadmissible evidence.
The only way to correct this by raising public awareness to a level that will change attitudes, if this is done before 2026 then valuable additions to the access network will be made. If not the access network will stay pretty much the same, I think that there is a real risk that 'Landowner Baiting' will break out to a greater level than it did prior to the Scottish 2003 Land Reform Act after 2026.