Find a public right of way

Definitive maps and statements (DMS) provide a legal record of the existence and route of any public rights of way over land. They provide conclusive evidence of the existence of public rights of way and are very important to landowners and users as they formally record where the public has a right to walk and where applicable, ride horses and bicycles and drive vehicles.

The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 first imposed a legal duty on county councils (known as surveying authorities) to carry out a survey of their areas and to embark on a process of producing a definitive map and an accompanying definitive statement describing certain kinds of public rights of way.

Under Section 53 of the Act, the council has a duty to keep the DMS up to date through a process of continuous review. When the council discovers evidence that the map or statement is incorrect and needs changing (known as a modification) it will do so by making and advertising a legal order called a definitive map modification order.

Current definitive map modification orders

This includes:

• Beech Hill Ward (May 2025)
• Biscot ward path (May 2025)

Confirmed definitive map modification orders

This includes:

• Stanmore Crescent and Icknield Road footpath
• Langley Place footpath