Ancaster DMMO 2 - Register of DMMO applications

Summary

Upgrade of road used as public path (RUPP) 12 known as Ancaster Pottergate to a byway open to all traffic (BOAT) and the addition to the Definitive Statement of a width of 60 feet along the route.

DMMO number
DMMO 2
Intended effect of the application
Upgrade of RUPP to BOAT and addition to particulars in the Definitive Statement
Grid references for start and end of claimed route
TF96934644 to TF98334404
Principal cities,towns,villages near claimed route
Ancaster, Sleaford
Parish
Ancaster
District
South Kesteven
Applicant's name
Lincolnshire Fieldpaths Association
Applicant's address
c/o C Padley, Hambleton Cottage, Walesby Road, Market Rasen, Lincolnshire LN8 3EY
Date of application
14 November 1991
Council officer
Senior Definitive Map Officer
Application number
DMMO/2/ANCASTER
Council telephone number
01522 782070
Council email
countryside_access@lincolnshire.gov.uk
Date of council's decision
(1) 20 December 1994; (2) 13 November 2001; (3) 18 April 2019
Outcome and reasons for the decision

(1) To make a modification order to upgrade the sections of RUPP 12 to the south of the railway and north of Fir Tree Lane to a BOAT and record these sections with a 60-foot width as the 1769 Inclosure Award for Ancaster supports this, but not to make a modification order for the section of the RUPP between the railway and Fir Tree Lane as the user evidence suggests that the public vehicular use of this part of the route does not meet the definition of a BOAT; (2) To make a modification order to upgrade the whole length of RUPP 12 to a BOAT and recorded it with a 60-foot width in line with the County Council’s decision of 20 December 1994 and the Secretary of State’s direction of 24 October 1995; (3) To make a modification order to add a restricted byway along the line of Ancaster Pottergate shown in the Inclosure Award Map and to record a 60-foot width over the northernmost 320 metres of Restricted Byway 12 as a result of the reinterpretation of the evidence.

Details of appeal to the Secretary of State

(1) The applicant appealed that part of the County Council’s decision of 20 December 1994 to not make a modification order for the section of RUPP 12 between the railway and Fir Tree Lane.  On 24 October 1995, the Secretary of State directed the County Council to make a modification order to upgrade this part of the RUPP to a BOAT.

Date modification order made
20 May 2019
Confirmation,non confirmation (with,without mods)
On 3 November 2022, the Secretary of State made a decision to not confirm the Modification Order on the following grounds: (1) The wording of the enabling 1769 Inclosure Act suggests that the 1770 Inclosure Award Map was drawn up just to aid the comprehension of the 1769 Inclosure Award for Ancaster.  This means that its accuracy could not be relied on given the rudimentary surveying techniques that were used at the time, and the railway and commercial maps of the 19th and 20th century show Ancaster Pottergate on the same alignment as Restricted Byway 12.  While the 1850 Tithe plan and the Inclosure Award Map show Ancaster Pottergate in the same location, it was common for tithe plans to be drawn up from award maps.  Greater must be given weight to the railway plans that were drawn up before and after the Tithe Plan because they were subject to a rigorous statutory and parliamentary process, and they show Ancaster Pottergate in the same location as Restricted Byway 12.  (2) The route of Ancaster Pottergate described in the Inclosure Award resembles Restricted Byway 12 and not the route shown in the Inclosure Award Map.  (3) The reference to Ancaster Pottergate as an ‘antient road’ in the Inclosure Award shows that was a pre-existing highway which the Commissioners had sought to recognise  This means that they had neither appointed nor set out a new highway with a 60-foot width in the location of Ancaster Pottergate.  (4) The Inclosure Award did not amount to a discovery of evidence as it was referred to in the parish path survey that was undertaken, as part of the statutory process used to draw up the Definitive Map and Statement.  This means that the presumption of regularity applies, so it must be assumed that proper account had been taken of the Inclosure Award in the statutory process used to draw up the Definitive Map and Statement.
This means that RUPP 12 or any part of it will not be upgraded to a BOAT.  However, the RUPP has been automatically reclassified to a restricted byway by section 47 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.  It is now known as Ancaster Restricted Byway 12.
Completed
Yes
Documents