Lawsuits, locals and land: Derbyshire residents prevail after epic 21-year footpath battle

When a footpath that had been used by locals for decades was blocked off by a landowner who dismissed its title as a right of way back in 2003, residents near a busy M1 junction were concerned that their access to green space was being unfairly restricted. Susan Simpson was one of these residents and decided to challenge the landowner—little did she know she was embarking on a fight that would span more than two decades.

The 300-metre footpath links the bottom of Bostocks Lane, which can be found to the west of the M1's junction 25, links the east of Risley with the rest of the village and provides an easily accessible green space for residents in the area - who already have to deal with the noise and restrictions from the nearby A52 and the M1 itself. It was blocked off suddenly at both ends by locked gates 21 years ago, thus starting the efforts to have it recognized as a legal right of way - with hopes of getting it added to the Derbyshire County Council definitive map.

Mrs Simpson began the legal process by distributing user evidence forms among Risley residents, encouraging people to declare their usage of the path before it was blocked off. If enough evidence was collected for the two-decade period prior to the closure, and anyone disputing the claim could not prove that sufficient steps were taken to dispute the free use of the footpath, Mrs Simpson would be able to demonstrate that the path had become public under section 31 of the 1980 Highways Act.

A public consultation was held by the county council to elicit further evidence - both for and against the application. After consideration, the council made the decision to refuse the application - and Mrs Simpson exercised her right to appeal the decision.

All of that took five years due to staff shortages and a high amount of similar applications county-wide - and we're only just getting started. The Secretary of State's Independent Inspector, after considering all the paperwork for and against the claimed path, felt there was a case to answer and that the landowner should exercise their powers to direct the council to publish a Definitive Map Modification Order (DMMO) to add the disputed footpath to the definitive map.

Mrs Simpson's appeal was allowed, which brings us to 2009. Two years later, as Mrs Simpson continued to fight for the footpath's freedom, the county council published the DMMO, and there were objections to it. It meant that it had been referred to the Secretary of State, who delegates the planning inspectorate, to resolve the issue with the appointment of an independent inspector to decide on the evidence.

In this particular case, however, it took the county council 10 years to refer the case to be determined. To make matters worse for Mrs Simpson, the council took a decision to remain neutral in any proceedings, meaning she would have to represent herself at a public inquiry in August 2022 - 19 years after the issue was first brought to the council.

She had no experience doing this sort of thing and would need help from a specialist - which came in the form of her white knight, John Harker - courts and inquiries officer at Peak & Northern Footpaths Society. John offered assistance to Mrs Simpson and used his three decades' worth of experience to give her the best chance at winning her fight.

Speaking on the decision to offer a helping hand, John said: "I have been dealing with these sorts of disputes for more than 30 years, and I knew it would be incredibly daunting for Susan as a layperson. I don't think she knew that she would be starting a 20-year pursuit when she first challenged the closure of the footpath; it was only right that I stepped in and helped."

The society’s volunteers have many years of experience in dealing with public rights of way law. Mr Harker, a Society volunteer since 1995, helped Mrs Simpson put together her case in favour of confirming the DMMO and represented her as an advocate at the Public Inquiry.

The objector, who owns a nearby farm, had appointed a firm of solicitors who retained a barrister from a London Chambers to oppose confirmation. After two false starts - caused by the inspector testing positive for Covid-19, and then a legal problem causing an adjournment, the Public Inquiry finally convened for the third time in March 2023 at Sandiacre Cricket Club to hear all the evidence presented and witnesses on both sides testify and be cross-examined on their evidence.

The Inspector closed the Inquiry after one and a half days and published his final verdict on June 28, 2023. The decision was to confirm the DMMO as he decided that, on the legal test of “balance of probabilities”, Mrs Simpson had demonstrated that the disputed path had been dedicated as a public right of way through long public use and an insufficiency of evidence that the landowner had shown an intention not to allow it to become public.

But that wasn’t the end of the story. The path had been blocked since 2003 and the county council, as the highway authority, now had a legal duty to ensure it would become safely usable again.

Another 12 months passed and the footpaths society had to initiate legal proceedings against the county council to hurry things along. Gates were eventually installed at each end by the landowner, who had to pay for the fencing and maintanence out of his own pocked.

The footpath has been restored to public use and safeguarded in perpetuity because of Susan Simpson’s perseverance over 20 years and the determination of a handful of witnesses to give evidence at what Mr Harker described as a "daunting" public inquiry. While it was a time for celebration for Mrs Simpson, she couldn't help but feel bittersweet about the whole ordeal.

"Part of me wishes I'd never challenged the closure of the footpath," Susan said. "It would have been nice to use the path over all the years, but I almost feel as if it is too late now.

"Out of the 23 people who stood as witnesses all those years ago, many of them have died or moved away. It's just said that they did not get to use the footpath again. When the footpath was blocked off, I felt that I had to do something to get it reopened, but I never imagined it would take such a long time to sort it out.

"Ignorance was bliss, otherwise I might never have started. Thanks to the help from John and Peak and Northern, we got our case across as well as we could and got the outcome we wanted in the end.” John Harker said “This is an extremely satisfying result for many residents in Risley.

"The main goal here is to allow more people access to green spaces and to also connect one part of Risley with the rest of it. It's very sad to think that some of the people who helped start this fight are no longer with us, but hopefully, by cementing this path as a right of way, it will be used by future generations, who will owe its use to Susan and everyone who helped along the way."

Commenting on the outcome of the battle, a Derbyshire County Council spokesperson said: “We are pleased to confirm that this matter has now concluded and Risley Public Footpath No.19 is now on the Definitive Map and Statement for Risley Parish.’’

Derbyshire Live attempted to contact the landowner for comment on Monday, November 4 and left a phone number to reach our reporter on.