6 Council Reports Myland Access Committee The recent celebration of the 25th Anniversary of Myland Community Council got me thinking about other significant anniversaries in the world of access; access to work, access to education, access to leisure. Public Rights of Way were not created on any specific date but were thought to have always existed since people had first walked along them. However, the Rights of Way Act of 1932 declared that any way which had been walked unhindered for over twenty years could be officially made a Public Right of Way. It wasn’t a simple task getting this through parliament— it was first introduced in 1906, and again in 1907, and in fact it was introduced in the House of Commons TWELVE times before it gained Royal Assent. In fact, it could be viewed as having taking much longer, as the Public Rights of Way Act was in fact based on the much earlier Prescription Act of 1832. This Act didn’t come into force until 1934 so this year could be the 90th anniversary of Public Rights of Way! The next milestone was the creation of the Definitive Map and Statement. This was as a result of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949. County councils were given the task of surveying their areas and recording and mapping rights of public access. The current Definitive Map in Essex is dated 01/07/2002 and is supposed to be continually updated to reflect modifications such as footpath creations, extinguishments and upgrading. It is held at County Hall in Chelmsford and in each of the districts in Essex, as well the relevant parts of this map being held by every single parish council. This map, (several huge maps actually), will probably be the last “on paper” Definitive Map, as the next issue will be a digital map and held online. (Perhaps not in my lifetime as previous experience indicates!) You can see a copy of this map at the MCC offices at 101 Nayland Road. Coming slightly more up to date, it has been 43 years since the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981 came into being, and Myland Parish Council used this Act to create Public Footpath 233 along Tower Lane in 2011. It was upgraded to a Bridleway five years later in 2016. Tower Lane goes from Mill Road by the old water tower to Boxted Road just to the north of the former Severalls Hospital site and just to the south of the Community Stadium.
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