Map showing county's rights of way reaches 70th birthday

The original and digital version of the Definitive Map

Our Definitive Map was created in November 1952. It is a legal record indicating the position and status of Public Rights of Way (PROW) across County Durham.

Public paths

In 1949 the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 gave all county councils in England and Wales the duty of surveying and mapping all public rights of way in their area. The authorities needed to classify them as footpaths, bridleways or roads used as public paths.

The map started off as a paper map, which was housed in County Hall, and members of the public could come in and check the existence and status of a right of way. Since 2010 it has been accessible in a digital format on our website.

Where the map shows a public right of way, the map is conclusive evidence that there was, at the relevant date, a highway as shown.

Brilliant resource

Cllr John Shuttleworth, Cabinet member for rural communities and highways, said: "The Definitive Map has been a brilliant resource for the county since it was created 70 years ago. Thanks to modern technology our staff are able to continually update the map, meaning that members of the public can explore as much of our beautiful and historic county as possible.

"I'd encourage anyone looking to get out and experience more of the county's landscape to have a look at the map and find out more."

Rights of way team

Our access and rights of way team looks after 2,200 miles of public rights of way across County Durham including footpaths, bridleways, restricted byways and byways.

The team is responsible for recording and maintaining the map, a legal record, by dealing with applications to move paths, close paths, or add new paths.

This includes applications to add historic bridle paths, each of which needs archive research of old documents.

The team is also responsible for maintenance - making sure paths are able to be used by the public, and enforcement - taking action where necessary against anyone who obstructs a public right of way.