Report - Section 6.1

6.1   Tourism in the South East

Within the definition of 'local rights of way' that will apply to rights of way improvement plans, the estimated lengths of recorded rights of way in England in 2000 were:

Table 6.1: Recorded rights-of-way in England

	Recorded length (est. km)	% of total
Definitive footpaths	146,475	77.7
Definitive bridleways	32,346	17.2
Definitive RUPPs (roads used as public paths)	5,963	3.2
Definitive byways open to all traffic	3,745	2.0

CSS survey of highway authorities in 2000

The CSS report on definitive maps (Slade) and the Lost Ways Phase 1 report both provide some estimates of the extent of unrecorded rights of way. However, they do not provide separate figures for the different categories of route reckoned to be currently unrecorded.

There is no data on the extent to which routes, though not recorded on definitive maps, are nevertheless, open, well-known, and well-used.

Although not within the definition of 'local rights of way', carriage-drivers, cyclists, riders and walkers are also likely to use those carriageways not recorded on definitive maps which are little used by motor traffic because they do not have a tarred surface. Some, but by no means all, of these are now identified by Ordnance Survey as 'other routes with public access' (ORPAs).