New guidance to help farmers seeking to divert or extinguish footpath

The government has unveiled new advice aimed at making it easier to divert a public right of way where there are concerns over privacy, security, and safety.

The Defra guidance, effective from 1 August, could prove helpful for farmers and landowners hoping to divert or extinguish a footpath.

It states that when an application is made to divert a path, “an authority should consider the impact of the existing path on the property owner and/or occupier against the benefit that having the right of way through the land brings to the public”.

The local authority must also be able to show that they have considered the benefits to privacy, security, and safety of diverting or extinguishing the right of way.