Chiltern Green Party

The Orders for the upgrading of Trapps Lane, Bottom Lane and Bunns Lane to Byways Open to All Traffic were issued on July 19th. We have 8 weeks to respond but it is strongly suggested that our responses are sent to Bucks County Council as soon as possible.

Further down this document you will find a draft template general letter. This is only an outline, you can modify it as you feel fit. Some general points about submitting objections follow:-

• You may send a separate letter of objection for each of the three lanes or one letter to cover all three. These can be sent in the same envelope. The letters can be handwritten or typed. They MUST have the correct title of each order that is being objected to as detailed below and they must be sent to Anne Davies at County Hall, address as below or by email to Patricia Eastham peastham@buckscc.gov.uk. You must also include your full name and address.
• Relevant objections for each of the three lanes are also listed in the document. You are invited to select from the bullet points there and incorporate them in the letters. You may also want to add your own. We have done a mock up of one to show you how it might look.
• It is suggested that you might like to reword the letter to make it more individual rather than a copy of what we have written but if you do not want to do this then just copy the letter as it is - just use copy and paste facility in your text editor if you are doing this electronically and transfer it to your own stationery. Don't forget to delete the red text in your version!
• Remember the aim at this point of time is to get a public inquiry into the Orders. This can only be done on historical evidence. Any points you add to the letter at this time on, for example, amenity or wildlife value of the lanes will be ignored.
• At the public inquiry, depending on the permission of the Inspector, points on amenity, wildlife etc. can be raised. So if you have specific things to say on this you will have an opportunity then or someone else can put forward your views.
• It would be helpful to us if you could let us know that you have written. Also if you have raised anything which we have not suggested then a copy of your letter would be useful.

There has already been a public open meeting hosted by Chesham Town Council at the Town Hall. Bucks County Council has taken on board requests made at the meeting and have agreed to object to the Orders. At this stage no further public meetings are planned.

We want to thank you for your interest in this matter. If you want further guidance on anything associated with responding to the Orders please contact us.

Nearer the time of the Inquiry we may need help in specific areas such as knowledge of law, historical research, wildlife information, local knowledge of use of lanes etc. If you are able to help in any way please contact us at: cheshamboats@btinternet.com

Draft Letter

Anne Davies
Head of Legal and Democratic Services
Bucks County Council
County Hall
Aylesbury HP20 1UA

Date (no earlier than 19th July 2007 and must be received at County Hall by 14th September 2007)

Dear Ms Davies

THE BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL (BYWAY OPEN TO ALL TRAFFIC NO. 28, CHESHAM) DEFINITIVE MAP MODIFICATION ORDER 2007

THE BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL (BYWAY OPEN TO ALL TRAFFIC NO. 34, CHESHAM) DEFINITIVE MAP MODIFICATION ORDER 2007

THE BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL (BYWAY OPEN TO ALL TRAFFIC NO. 47 CHESHAM/NO.19 LATIMER) DEFINITIVE MAP MODIFICATION ORDER 2007

I am writing to object to the above orders. I do not agree that on the balance of probabilities these lanes have public vehicular rights. Historical evidence is inconclusive but indicates that if vehicular rights exist at all they were reserved for agricultural occupants of adjacent land for movement of their stock and produce. The lanes have certainly not been publicly used by vehicles as of right within living memory, as acknowledged in the Bucks County Council report into the original applications and confirmed by DEFRA inspector in his decision letter (Para 67).

Insert your preferred bullet points here, being sure to show which lane they refer to.

In addition, I object to the loss of amenity for walkers, riders and cyclists, who will lose a valuable safe, tranquil amenity on the urban fringe if use of these lanes is opened to mechanically propelled vehicles. The prospect of general environmental degradation that will inevitably occur is deplorable and, whilst understanding that this is not a valid objection to the Orders, it is a material consideration that needs addressing as a matter of great importance even if relevant objections fail at a Public Inquiry.

Yours faithfully

Insert your name

Insert your address

Bullet Points that may be used in Objection Letters

Please note these are only guidelines. Feel free to select from them, reword them and to add your own points. We would suggest that you use at least two points for each Lane.

Bridleways 47 Chesham and 19 Latimer, known as Bunns Lane

1. Bunns Lane would never have been in the past used for public traffic as it only links White End Park Farm to Latimer Road. It has only one side path which goes to Ladies Wood (Bridleway Chesham 48) which is totally unsuitable for traffic. Any traffic from Ley Hill coming down Blackwell Hall Road or even from the Farm itself going to Latimer Road would have taken the easier route of going along Blackwell Hall Road to the junction with Latimer Road.

2. Bunns Lane is unsuitable for vehicular traffic, both now and in the past, as it has a steep incline up from Latimer Road and has three right angle bends on narrow sections.

3. It would have been used in the past as a footpath, mainly by farm workers coming to the Farm. (Note that those walking will generally use the shortest path, while vehicles will use the easiest path). It could have also been used by the tenant farmers farming the adjacent fields to access their fields but through vehicular traffic would have been impractical.

4. On the 1910 Finance Act Map there is a line drawn across the Lane at its junction with access road to White End Farm and another at the Latimer Road end. These could be gates preventing unauthorised access to Bunns Lane.

5. All these and other considerations suggest that the result of the Inquiry held by the Inspector into the decision of Bucks County Council not to turn Bunns Lane into a BOAT was wrong and that Bunns Lane should remain a bridleway. I would request that a public inquiry be held to test the decision of the Inspector,

Bridleway 28 Chesham, known as Bottom Lane

1. The 1910 Finance Act Maps clearly show that the southern end of Bottom Lane crossed the privately owned Milk Hall field, which is shown coloured green on the Finance Act Map. This means Bottom Lane was included for tax by the owner and therefore not dedicated as a public highway.

2. The landowner has farmed the area for over 50 years and has never given permission for vehicles to his property. Farm vehicles do not use Bottom Lane.

3. Bottom Lane has always been gated and at a width of just 1.3m it is impossible that anyone has driven a car along its entire length during the last 50 years as has been claimed by the Trail Riders Fellowship in their appeal to the Secretary of State.

4. Bottom Lane has none of the sunken attributes of a 'hollow way' (a route eroded by water and the passage of heavy traffic) unlike other local lanes, suggesting that it has never carried vehicular traffic.

5. The elevated southern section of Bottom Lane has a natural crossfall from west to east, making any historical use of the lane by wheeled traffic doubtful due to the risk of slipping off the narrow path into the field below.

Bridleway 34 Chesham, known as Trapps Lane

1. Big Round Green, which sits astride Trapps Lane on the OS Map of 1883 was a pound used to collect stray farm animals and obstructed its use as a through road. Lord Chesham owned Big Round Green and therefore Trapps Lane was never dedicated as a public right of way.

2. The 1910 Finance Act records on which the Defra Inspector relies in his report are acknowledged be inconclusive proof of a vehicular right of way.

3. Historical vehicular use of Trapps Lane is most unlikely as it was not a through road and local topography suggests that there were (and are still) other easier preferred public routes from Tylers Hill, Ley Hill and Botley which have nowadays been adopted as the main public roads, leaving Trapps Lane as a bridleway.

Example of an objection letter with some bullet points for each lane included.

Anne Davies
Head of Legal and Democratic Services
Bucks County Council
County Hall
Aylesbury HP20 1UA
25TH July 2007

Dear Ms Davies

THE BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL (BYWAY OPEN TO ALL TRAFFIC NO. 28, CHESHAM) DEFINITIVE MAP MODIFICATION ORDER 2007

THE BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL (BYWAY OPEN TO ALL TRAFFIC NO. 34, CHESHAM) DEFINITIVE MAP MODIFICATION ORDER 2007

THE BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL (BYWAY OPEN TO ALL TRAFFIC NO. 47 CHESHAM/NO.19 LATIMER) DEFINITIVE MAP MODIFICATION ORDER 2007

I am writing to object to the above orders. I do not agree that on the balance of probabilities these lanes have public vehicular rights. Historical evidence is inconclusive but indicates that if vehicular rights exist at all they were reserved for agricultural occupants of adjacent land for movement of their stock and produce. The lanes have certainly not been publicly used by vehicles as of right within living memory, as acknowledged in the Bucks County Council report into the original applications and confirmed by DEFRA inspector in his decision letter (Para 67).

Bunns Lane - No 47 Chesham/No 19 Latimer

1) On the 1910 Finance Act Map there is a line drawn across the Lane at its junction with access road to White End Farm and another at the Latimer Road end. These could be gates preventing unauthorised access to Bunns Lane.

2) Bunns Lane would never have been in the past used for public traffic as it only links White End Park Farm to Latimer Road. It has only one side path which goes to Ladies Wood (Bridleway Chesham 48) which is totally unsuitable for traffic. Any traffic from Ley Hill coming down Blackwell Hall Road or even from the Farm itself going to Latimer Road would have taken the easier route of going along Blackwell Hall Road to the junction with Latimer Road.

Bottom Lane - No 28

1. The 1910 Finance Act Maps clearly show that the southern end of Bottom Lane crossed the privately owned Milk Hall field, which is shown coloured green on the Finance Act Map. This means Bottom Lane was included for tax by the owner and therefore not dedicated as a public highway.

2. The landowner has farmed the area for over 50 years and has never given permission for vehicles to his property. Farm vehicles do not use Bottom Lane.

Trapps Lane - No 34

1) Part of Trapps Lane at Big Round Green is coloured brown on the 1910 Finance Act and was owned by Lord Chesham and therefore not part of the public highway network and is not a public road.

2) Many bridleways are on the Bucks CC list of streets as maintainable by BCC but they are maintained as bridleways not as roads - there is a huge difference in highway construction between the two.

In addition, I object to the loss of amenity for walkers, riders and cyclists, who will lose a valuable safe, tranquil amenity on the urban fringe if use of these lanes is opened to mechanically propelled vehicles. The prospect of general environmental degradation that will inevitably occur is deplorable and, whilst understanding that this is not a valid objection to the Orders, it is a material consideration that needs addressing as a matter of great importance even if relevant objections fail at a Public Inquiry.

Yours faithfully

Mr Joe Bloggs
Another street
Chesham
Bucks
HP5