Challenge brought by Trail Riders Fellowship, represented by Paul Wilmshurst (instructed by DMH Stallard)

Paul Wilmshurst, a barrister specialising in public rights of way law, represented the Trail Riders Fellowship in a case against Northumberland County Council (NCC) regarding a definitive map modification order relating to an alleged byway open to all traffic (BOAT).

The Trail Riders sought to quash the modification order made by an inspector appointed by the Secretary of State, which determined a section of the route to be a footpath rather than a BOAT.

The inspector made three order decisions, with the claimant objecting to the proposed modifications each time. The Trail Riders’ challenge was based on three grounds, including mistakes in the inspector’s conclusions about historical maps and a misdirection in law.

NCC did not appear at the hearing, but the Secretary of State refuted each ground. They argued that the inspector fairly assessed the evidence and that the weight given to historical maps and the interpretation of “cross roads” were within the inspector’s discretion.