Defra has announced that it will remove the 2026 deadline for adding historic rights of way to the map, following years of campaigning by outdoor access organisations

Because of delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Environment Secretary has decided to extend the deadline by five years, from 1 January 2026 to 1 January 2031, using existing powers in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CROW).

Cycling and walking groups had feared that the earlier cut-off date would means that thousands of miles of unrecorded paths in England would have been lost for good if applications weren't made to add them to the map in time.

DEFRA added they are also implementing reforms to how historic rights of way are recorded. "These changes will benefit all parties involved – namely landowners, local authorities and users - by making the process faster, more cost-effective, less confrontational, and less bureaucratic.

As part of these reforms, local authorities will have more powers to reject weakly evidenced applications, ignore irrelevant objections, and agree on appropriate modifications directly with landowners. Local Authorities will also be able to correct obvious administrative errors through a significantly shortened process. "

"We are now moving forward with plans to reform existing bureaucratic processes and make it easier and faster to update the legal record of rights of way."

 The U-turn by Defra is a huge win for outdoor access organisations including the Ramblers, the British Horse Society and the Open Spaces Society who were among those campaigning to keep paths and by ways open.