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Date: Sun, 11 May 1997 03:35:42 -0400
From: Chris Marsden <Byway@compuserve.com>
Subject: Dartington Report

This is an extract from the Dartington Report to the Countryside Commission
in 1979.  I have spent quite a bit of time copying and checking this to the
original, and is the whole of  Chapter 5.  I am sure you find some sections
are still very relevant.

Chris
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Chapter 5       CONCLUSIONS

INTRODUCTION

5.1.    Detailed appraisal of this material collected at national and local
level would be markedly repetitious but having recorded such a range of
views we have ourselves reached certain conclusions which we state as
concisely as possible below.

5.2.    It is our view that the distribution and extent of green lanes in
England and Wales cannot be stated with any reasonable accuracy because:

a.      the classification of these lanes is totally inconsistent from
county to county, so that virtually any category of way for which official
statistics exist can be a green lane;

b.      the bases for estimates - the highways lists and definitive maps
etc. -are often sadly inaccurate;

c.      the estimates given by some counties appear to have no documentary
basis of any kind, and may be more accurately described as ‘guesses’.

Nor can the detailed surveys carried out in the study areas be used to
quantify these possible errors in the three counties concerned, because the
official figures cannot be broken down to the District level necessary for
this exercise.   Finally, the study areas were in no sense a Statistically
valid sample of English and Welsh Districts generally, so extrapolation
from the study area data would be hazardous.   The most that can be said
with confidence is that green lanes are significantly less abundant than
footpaths and bridleways generally (bearing in mind that these three
categories of track overlap) , but they are nevertheless a major part of
our heritage of routes.

5.3.    The legal status of green lanes is remarkably unsatisfactory, by
reason of both complexity and misunderstanding of the relevant statutes.  
The resulting confusion is a source of troubles to both government and
users - and with these troubles manifesting themselves in procedures and
‘on the ground’.   However, it seems likely that large-scale changes in the
legislation might well compound these problems, by reason of:

a.      the Possibility of yet more complexity being added;

b.      the inability of local authorities to carry out the Survey and
registration which would almost certainly be needed (unless special finance
is also made available.

5.4.    Despite the almost axiomatic redundance or obsolescence as a
highway which the term ‘green lane’ implies (and which was confirmed by the
field surveys), the country’s green lanes constitute a valuable resource in
both conservation and recreational terms.   There should be greater
awareness of these values by government and public.   The field survey
Suggests that they are usually important features of wildlife  to which
they add form, scale, and variety.   They serve an increasingly valuable 
wildlife conservation function as the intensity of cropping on the adjacent
farmland is increased.

5.5.    They are an easily overlooked part of our historic heritage, giving
mute evidence of what travel conditions were like in an earlier age at
least and, occasionally, having some greater historic importance in their
own right.   On the evidence, they are still useful to the bulk of
livestock farmers for their agricultural purposes (although not so much as
to counter their land value in arable areas).    Taken on   their own, they
have considerable recreational value - and one which Is several times
compounded when added to the other routes which can be walked or ridden.  
This recreational use can lead, and has led, to conflict between user and
farmer, or between user and user.   But, in our view, this is less due to
specific requirements of different users than to misunderstanding, lack of
management, and - too often - a want in courtesy.

5.6.    What is also clear, however, is that this set of resources - too
scattered to be called a system but certainly of importance to many as a
sub-system of the total road and path system - is in danger of serious loss
in some areas, and a slow erosion of extent and value in others.   This
erosion may be made good by the slow decline of many roads which are
presently tarred, but this cannot be relied on and, by well-understood
conservation criteria, these roads would be less valuable for wildlife.  
We found 119 green lanes had been ‘destroyed’: removed from all possible
use as a double-bounded route of passage; and our search almost certainly
missed others from the inadequate records and the lack of remaining visible
evidence.

5.7.    In the light of this research and these briefly summarised
conclusions, we feel that action should be taken to correct what is an
unsatisfactory situation, and to help conserve these resources.   We
tentatively suggest, as a basis for discussion between the sponsoring
bodies, highways authorities, and user groups, changes under the broad
headings of legislation (including its administration) and management.

LEGISLATION
5.8.    It is our view that, wisely used and with one or two apparently
simple amendments, the present legislation can adequately serve the
purposes of central and local governments, together with those of
conservationists - despite the complexity earlier recorded.   What are
needed, however, are:

a.      as full and accurate records as proper field survey, on the lines
described in this report, will reasonably permit;
b.      commitment to establishing and maintaining these records by highway
authorities (but with encouragement and assistance in this task by the
public and by central government);
c.      properly thought through and clearly articulated guidelines for the
interpretation and wise use of the range of relevant legislation.

5.9. SURVEY AND RECORDS.   The first requirement for management and
conservation is a record of a green Lane's  existence and legal status, yet
the large majority of county councils have not been able to keep up with
the tasks placed on them in this respect under the statutory reviews of the
definitive path maps; and the special reviews of roads used as public paths

are far from complete.   Given the total administrative problems of the
authorities concerned, this allocation of low priority to this work is not
surprising.   Nevertheless, the work must, in our view, be properly
completed and added to by dint of surveys of other green lanes.

5.10.   From our three field surveys, we can claim that the task of basic
survey and allied desk research (using our working definitions) is not
difficult or demanding of high qualifications -our survey teams included
school-leavers and one foreign national with indifferent English. There
are, of course, costs in wages and travel, but we feel that this work would
be ideally suited to teams employed under the Manpower Services
Commission’s ‘Special Programmes’; the establishment of full and  proper
records of green lanes (and paths) would be of considerable administrative
benefit to the authorities; of clear benefit to the conservation of the
physical environment; and of inestimable value as historical documents to
future generations. Alternatively, with proper encouragement and
instruction, the work could be done (albeit over a much longer period) by
volunteers and school groups.   What appears to be missing is a sense of
commitment - motivation, if preferred - which possibly stems from a lack of
awareness of their importance in highways authorities whose preoccupation
must inevitably be with the requirements of motorised transport.   Some
further encouragement from the Departments of Transport and of the
Environment might be helpful: written exhortation but backed by assistance
towards survey costs.   Or, the Countryside Commission may wish to consider
extending its advisory and grant-resources to green lanes, whose survey
might lend itself to the appointment of a Project
Officer.

5.11.   From Chapters 2 and 4, there is a clear need for advice to both
local authorities
and voluntary  bodies on the interpretation, cross-relevance, and practical
use of the various Acts      This could be in the form of a Consolidation
Circular, or an advisory booklet, or both, and should specifically include:

a.      the type of traffic, by right and by permission, which can use the
different designations of lane;
b.      the absence of any statutory obligation to maintain a byway to a
standard suitable for all traffic (paragraph 2.30);
c.      the ability given by traffic regulation orders to restrict the type
of traffic using a byway;
d.      the discretion given the highway authority to cease full
maintenance (to an ‘all-traffic-‘ standard) of a highway without having to
down-grade its status (paragraph 2.29);
e.      the need to increase the awareness of farmers and landowners of the
value of their private roads as a step towards engaging their interest in
conserving them (particularly important since these roads do not come under
the statutes discussed and yet constitute over one-third of the lanes
surveyed).

5.12.   Roads used as public paths deserve special mention.   At the outset
of this research, there was a long-standing and widespread assumption that
‘green lanes’ and roads used as public paths were nearly synonymous (an
assumption which underlay the procedure laid down in the 1968 Countryside
Act for the review of roads used as public paths).   It has been
demonstrated that, in three tolerably large areas rich in green lanes, only
a very small fraction were so classified (or would have been in Dorset if
the County Council had followed other counties in using this
classification).   However, there is no doubt that they pose a special
problem.   We have shown in Chapter 2 that the right to use motor vehicles
on them is unclear, which makes things difficult for
motorists/motorcyclists who are unsure of their rights.   In addition, this
half-implied vehicular right has the dedicated (non-motoring)
conservationist hesitating between the Scylla of delinquent motorcyclists
if the road used as a public path is regraded to a byway, and the Charybdis
of destruction by ploughing if its status is changed to that of bridleway.
We have also shown that these contingencies can be avoided - notably
through a change of status to byway coupled with a traffic regulation order
governing its use.

5.13.   Amendments to legislation.      Detailed suggestions on suitable
amendments are properly the task of a legal draugtsman, but we can suggest
four directions which amendments might take.
The first concerns roads used as public paths and the Reviews called for in
the 1968 Countryside Act.   We have shown that there is nothing in the
legislation to prevent further roads used as public paths being designated
in the future yet, once the Limited Special Review has been held, there is
no provision for reviewing  such new roads used as public paths.   This
anomaly needs to be removed , by permitting some form of periodic Limited
Review or by amending the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act
1949 to remove the ‘road used as a public path’ status altogether and, at
the same time, enabling byways to be created or paths to be re-classified
as byways in normal quinquennial reviews.   We favour the latter procedure
because we would like to see the flexibility to accommodate change built
into the legislation.

5.14.   The second change we would wish to see made is to the procedure for
closing, diverting, and downgrading county roads (particularly green lanes)
under Section 108 of the Highways Act 1959, or for relinquishing
responsibility for maintaining highways (under Section 50 of the same Act).
  Highways authorities with limited budgets appear to be tempted to use
these Sections to reduce their total maintenance costs.   These powers are
seen by conservation and amenity groups as a threat to be opposed, yet we
have noted that these powers, wisely used, can actually be a means of
safeguarding green lanes and adding to their number.   However, in both
cases, the procedure is for application to magistrates’ courts.   This does
not provide for proper consultation with user groups, and also places them
at a disadvantage in resisting applications.   (Magistrates’ courts can be
intimidating to the uninitiated, and there is always a worry about the
possible award of costs.)   We stress that the rights under this Act should
remain; that the harshness of the procedure should be softened by, perhaps,
a short period of consultation prior to formal application for an order;
and that, in the longer term,  the highways authorities and the amenity
bodies agree on their joint use for conservation purposes.

5.15.   The third amendment needed is to the National Parks and Access to
the Countryside Act 1949, to remove the anomaly of  dual designation as
found in the High Peak area.   The Mason case has set the precedent that
Unclassified Roads / Footpaths are de facto footpaths; whilst Unclassified
Roads/Bridleways are de facto unclassified county roads.   This seems
sensible, but now needs formalisation in statute to remove the continuing
misunderstandings found during survey and local discussions.

5.16.   Finally, something should be done to prevent, as a last resort, the
destruction of greenlanes of particular historical, landscape or wildlife
value.   It is paradoxical that trees only a few decades old (and readily
replaceable) can be protected from removal, whereas lanes centuries old may
be destroyed with impunity.   We have hesitated over this suggestion,
believing that there is a growing public unease with state interference in
the lives and livelihoods of its peoples. But we believe the value of some
green lanes to be high, and the dangers in some areas to be acute.   We
understand that the Department of the Environment believes it inappropriate
to extend the definition of 'ancient monument' to include hedgerows and
green lanes because 

"an ancient monument should be a building or structure made or inhabited by
man; we do not consider that green lanes are man-made in quite the same way
nor that ancient monument powers would be apt for preserving them or
controlling them". *

*       Department of the Environment (Ancient Monuments Directorate):
Letter to the Commons, Open Spaces and Footpaths Preservation Society:
August 1977

We regard this argument as mistaken.   A Devon green lane,  banked, hedged,
and metalled, has taken every bit as much manpower and is as appropriate to
the economic and social history of the people who made it as is any Bronze
Age barrow.   In any case, a lane, road, or track is an undoubted artefact,
and to suppose that there is anything natural about its existence or course
is naive. There may well be good administrative and financial reasons why
the widespread designation of green lanes as ancient monuments might be
unwise, but we feel that their occasional designation when a clear historic
value can be ascribed would be apt and helpful.

5.17.   Where this  would be inapt is with features of major landscape
value only, or with clear wildlife value where this falls short of
designation as of 'special scientific interest' (which, in itself, does not
prevent destruction if the owner is determined).   For these, we urge the
further consideration of an idea put to us - that of the Track Preservation
Order, working analogous to the present Tree Preservation Orders.   We are
aware of some of the problems associated with the latter - they can arouse
the owner's resentment and they carry no automatic responsibility to
maintain or replace the listed tree.   But lanes are normally more durable
in the fact of neglect than is a tree; and there are already extant legal
responsibilities to maintain the surface and margins of green lanes (which
can be subject to Court Order in extreme cases), so that no new (and hence
resentable) powers would be needed.

MANAGEMENT

5.18.   The conflict between recreational users reported to us in Phase 1
of the study is real enough, and can be locally fierce, as in the High
Peak.   Nevertheless, we feel it has, on the whole, been somewhat
exaggerated.   Where it does occur, it seems to us to be more amenable to
management than to wholesale banning of one group or another.   The
possibilities of physical zoning of activities between green lanes do not
appear to have been fully explored, nor have those of restricting motor
access on disputed ways to particular times or organised groups.   We are
sympathetic to those who find motorcycles, however silenced and
well-ridden, offensive and anachronistic in quiet places, but the cyclists
have rights, and to deny these simply from a claimed superior sense of
values is a debateable (and dangerous) step.   There probably are some
places where this may be necessary, but they are fewer than many hard-line
walkers would accept - and the ability to control use through local traffic
regulation orders permits experiment towards compromises acceptable to
those on both sides of the argument; and changes to meet evolving
circumstance.

5.19.   The conflict between farmers and other users is also exaggerated on
the evidence presented to us - indeed, the problems are fewer with green
lanes than with some other routes because they place bounds to the
visitors' behaviour and movement.   Like visitor problems in the
countryside generally, they are amenable to better public (and here we
include farmers) education and local information.

5.20.   The lack of clear information is exemplified by the inadequate or
misleading sign-posting we found in the study areas.   What is needed - and
what would be welcomed by recreational users and farmers - is some clear
indication of where walkers etc. are allowed to go.   Bearing In mind the
diverse classification of green lanes, perhaps the simple sign ‘Green Lane’
might be adopted for all lanes with legal or permitted rights of way.  
These signs could have some indication of restrictions on use also - a task
not beyond a competent designer.

5.21.   The Ordnance Survey maps can also be misleading, but we appreciate
the difficulty in making alterations to these, and  content  ourselves with
pointing out that our survey revealed that ‘white’ roads, which should
therefore be untarred, were sometimes tarred; whilst ‘yellow’ (or
‘brown-striped’) roads, which should be tarred, were sometimes untarred.  
We suggest that a more helpful distinction would be between private roads
(white?) and public highways (coloured?).

5.22.   We have instanced the problems of maintenance of green lanes - lack
of money and lack of interest in the face of more pressing matters.   If
the lanes are properly surveyed and recorded as we suggest above, then
their condition can be recorded and some degree of priority accorded - such
as the re-opening of short stretches of impassable lane which are useful
links in the local network of rights of way.   There seems to be room for
more informal dialogue with owners, whereby the highway authority offers to
improve the surface if and when owners play their part by cutting back the
hedges.   We also point again to the opportunities offered by the Manpower
Services Commission’s ‘Special Programmes’ ; by collaboration with
interested voluntary bodies; or, perhaps, an appropriate mixture of the
two, with the authority sponsoring M.S.C., and the volunteers providing
local knowledge, hedging and other skills, and day-to-day supervision.

End.

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