The following was posted by a TRF member, and may have originated from Wiltshire CC. If it is correct it would mean we have a slight reprieve in our choice of lanes. No doubt it would also have the added bonus of pissing off some ramblers.
The legislation regarding the blanket reclassification of remaining RUPP’s as ‘restricted byways’ is under Section 47 of the CROW Act 2000, which has not yet come into force. RUPP’s do therefore still remain and this is why there is confusion about how the NERC Act will affect byway applications on RUPP’s. NERC only refers to routes which are presently footpaths, bridleways and restricted byways. It makes no mention of RUPP’s, perhaps anticipating that Section 47 of the CROW Act would be in place by the time NERC was implemented on 02/05/06, but that Section of CROW has not yet been implemented.
With regards to driving on RUPP’s, the only conclusive rights that we can say exist on RUPP’s are bridleway rights, with or without additional vehicular rights, depending upon the evidence. A person driving on a RUPP can use historical evidence as a defence, if they have a full knowledge of the evidence and can demonstrate that they believed they were using the right of way in this manner “as of right”, based upon their knowledge of the evidence.
The legislation regarding the blanket reclassification of remaining RUPP’s as ‘restricted byways’ is under Section 47 of the CROW Act 2000, which has not yet come into force. RUPP’s do therefore still remain and this is why there is confusion about how the NERC Act will affect byway applications on RUPP’s. NERC only refers to routes which are presently footpaths, bridleways and restricted byways. It makes no mention of RUPP’s, perhaps anticipating that Section 47 of the CROW Act would be in place by the time NERC was implemented on 02/05/06, but that Section of CROW has not yet been implemented.
With regards to driving on RUPP’s, the only conclusive rights that we can say exist on RUPP’s are bridleway rights, with or without additional vehicular rights, depending upon the evidence. A person driving on a RUPP can use historical evidence as a defence, if they have a full knowledge of the evidence and can demonstrate that they believed they were using the right of way in this manner “as of right”, based upon their knowledge of the evidence.