Public rights of way

Public path orders allow us to make permanent changes to public rights of way, such as diverting or closing a path.

View the current public path orders.

Consultation

We consult the public and organisations that have a legal right to comment.

You must send us any comments or objections in writing within 28 days of the consultation starting.

If an objection is not withdrawn and we decide to continue, we send the order and objection to the Secretary of State.

They may consider the case through:

• a local inquiry
• written representations

When we make an order

We put a public notice at the site and advertise the order in the Swindon Advertiser. Full details are also available on this website.

When we confirm an order

We seal the order and issue a second set of public notices and information. We publish these in the same way as the first notices.

The notices include the date the order will come into force.

Alternative paths

We complete any work needed to provide an alternative path before we confirm the order.