Updated: 30 July 2025
There are currently 200 unresolved Definitive Map Modification Order applications within Gloucestershire. the table below gives a summary of the current situation. These include 154 undetermined DMMO applications, 79 where notice has been served on landowners and 73 where the notice had not been served on the landowners. There are also 50 applications which have been determined with currently 42 awaiting referral to the Secretary of State. Further information can be found about these on a separate webpage – Gloucestershire Unresolved DMMO Applications. This includes links to the outstanding applications, these include 4 cases where the order was made more than 25 years ago.
A useful guide to the DMMO process published by the Ramblers Association can be found on their website – Claiming unrecorded public rights of way
| Applications Undetermined by Gloucestershire | ||
| Description | Number | Totals |
| Archived | 36 | |
| Undetermined – Sch 14(2) Compliant | 43 | |
| Undetermined – Sch 14(2) Non-Compliant | 73 | |
| Total Undetermined | 154 | |
| Applications Determined by Gloucestershire | ||
| Awaiting Referral to SOS | 42 | |
| Referred to SOS | 2 | |
| Confirmed in objection period | 1 | |
| DMMO Refused – Applicant appeal to SOS in progress | 1 | |
| Sub-Total Determined | 46 | |
| Grand Total | 200 |
Applicants who have certified that they have served notice on the landowners (under Paragraph 2 of Schedule 14 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981) and known as “schedule 14(2) compliant” have the right to apply to the Secretary of State for a direction to determine the application 12 months after the notice was received by the Council. The Planning Inspectorate interpret Ministerial policy as to mean that applications should be determined within 12 months and normally a direction will be issued to determine the application within 12 months, however, if there are a significant number of directions they may be phased over a period of time, as recently happened in April 2022 in Herefordshire (Link to Inspector’s Decision) where the council was directed to determine 36 outstanding applications within 24 months (Link to Annex)
Unfortunately “Schedule 14(2) Non compliant” tend to be treated by the Council as if there is no obligation to determine the application. Additionally, until fairly recently, another group of applications known as “Undetermined Archived” have simply sat on the file since around 2006 as they related to Byways Open to All Traffic (BOAT) applications and following caselaw in the Winchester College Case case it is unlikely that many will be successful as BOATS but could provide evidence in support of a right of way to be added or the status to be changed on the definitive map (eg currently unrecorded right of way, or a lower status path to bridleway or Restricted Byway). A number of these have been determined in last two years but there are still 36 to determine.