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It is proposed that Hampshire County Council
enter into an agreement with Taylor Wimpey Ltd for the common law
dedication of public footpath rights, as shown on the location map
at Appendix 1.
In 2019, Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC) made an order under
Section 257 of the Town and Country planning Act 1990 to divert
Andover Footpath 10b (see Appendix 2). The order was made in
connection with a large-scale housing development immediately
adjacent to a railway line running immediately adjacent to the
site. The path crosses the railway line via an ‘at
grade’ pedestrian crossing which Network Rail has recently
identified as one of the highest risk crossings on the Wessex Line.
Its position, which was accepted by TVBC, was that to
maintain the crossing was not viable in the context of hundreds of
new dwellings
being constructed immediately adjacent to the railway line.
The Order was to have diverted Andover 10b alongside the railway
line, connecting a recently dedicated route - Andover Footpath 506
(Point A on the plan) to an existing cycleway known as the Icknield
Way link (near Point B). The order was confirmed without objection
in 2019, but construction of the diversion route was not undertaken
immediately. It now transpires that delivery of the
diversion route is no longer feasible, due to the lack of available
space and environmental and engineering restrictions due to the
proximity of newly built houses. Following discussions between the
County Council, TVBC and the developer, it has been accepted that
the 2019 Order cannot be certified as the path is not physically
deliverable, and that the removal of the level crossing will
need to be achieved through different means.
To this end, the developer has now offered to dedicate an
alternative path to connect the northern terminus of Andover 10b to
the Icknield Way (see A-E on
Appendix 1). The path is more circuitous than what was originally
envisaged in the 2019 Order, but nevertheless provides a viable
pedestrian link through from Andover Footpath 506 to the Icknield
Way. It is proposed that, following the dedication, the developer
will submit a separate application to the County Council under the
provisions of Section 118A of the Highways Act 1980 to
extinguish Andover 10b, on the grounds that it is expedient in the
interests of public safety that the path is extinguished. The
developer has agreed to cover
the County Council’s legal costs incurred in the progression
of this agreement.
The new path, which has a minimum width of 2 metres, runs over a
varied route comprising loose bound material, block paving and
grass. Part of the route runs over the roadways of the new
development, parts of which are due to be adopted by Hampshire
Highways. The Area Countryside Access Manager has indicated that
they are happy with the proposed alignment. Because of the variable
nature of the surface, and the fact that part of the route will be
metalled, it has been agreed that the dedication will not be under
the Highways Act 1980, and so will not confer maintenance
responsibility on the highway authority. That part of the route
that runs over a metalled carriageway may be removed from the
definitive
map as and when that part is formally adopted by Hampshire
Highways.
Because the dedication is not being progressed under statutory
provisions, there is no requirement to consult before entering into
the agreement. However, ongoing discussions following the 2019
Order mean that the Ramblers and TVBC are aware of the
proposal.