Walking in Ipswich

Committee has approved five as Public Rights of Way for inclusion on the IDM&S. It is likely that landowners and port/ business interests may object, which means a Public Inquiry before any decision. Only if the outcome of the Public Inquiry is successful will they be added to the IDM&S.

Last year the paths forming the Fonnereau Way were claimed and the User Evidence presented was sufficient to be accepted by the SCC Rights of Way committee in January 20 10. The Modification Order has now been made and, unless cogent objections are received, should be confirmed in a few months and be added to the IDM&S.

Please do think about what information you, your friends or neighbours - especially dog-walkers - can provide so that paths are not lost! With a full set of paths, walkers could know where they are entitled to walk and where developers and mc Planning Department need to be aware of these claims.

It would do nothing but good to mention these matters to any Councillors with whom you may be in contact! Many fully support this process but some could be more pressing and supportive for this cause.

There is a good map which shows most of the paths within the Ipswich area. It and others produced by Wilfred George can be obtained from the Tourist Information Centre. Wilfred George has been producing these hand-drawn maps of much of East Anglia for over 20 years in his spare time. Another useful map is the Ipswich Cycle Route Map published by SCC, which shows some useful paths. But neither of these maps has the legal status that the IDM&S has.

SCC has a website that explains the process of claiming a path with links to the form for providing evidence. The Rights of Way Section of SCC can be helpful, but evidence required must be collected by the public. The two ways in which a path may be claimed are by User Evidence and by Documentary Evidence. This latter may require finding information from the Tithe Maps and similar documents at Suffolk Records Office. User Evidence requires the claimant or other individuals to have walked a path legally over a number of years, i.e. where no objection was made or sign displayed to the contrary. For a Claim to succeed, SCC normally requires evidence that covers a I5-year period from at least six people. For further information one could contact

GEOFF KNIGHT

Suffolk County Council's website or the Ramblers Association's website.