A PLANNING inspector has decided against an attempted modification order to an ancient footpath at Lydford made by Devon County Council .

The decision, welcomed by home owners whose properties border the footpath, will mean horse riders who have long been using the path, will no longer be able to use parts of the footpath as a bridleway.

The long running dispute over a pathway, including the ancient 'Lych Way', culminated in a planning inquiry in January in Lydford, headed by planning inspector Martin Elliot.

Following an application by the South West Riders in June 2011 the county council recommended an order be made upgrading the footpath to a bridleway and adding a connecting bridleway across the River Lyd upstream of the footbridge on the definitive map.

The council wanted to modify the map and statement for the area by upgrading Lydford footpath numbers 41, 49 and part of 10, between Lake Cottage and Prescombe Lane via Mill Cottage and the River Lyd, and adding a connecting bridleway through the River Lyd parallel to the footbridge.

However, the inspector said in his conclusions that 'there is no evidence of dedication' at common law and it was not until the late 1960s and early 1970s before equestrian use was by more than one individual.

'A number of other individuals have used the way prior to the 20 years period considered, although it should be noted that not all of this was as of right.'

Bevis Hughes and Catherine Law, the owners of Mill Cottage, told the Times: 'We are delighted that the planning inspectorate have agreed with our objection and decided to quash the order made by Devon County Council.

'This is a victory for common sense and the rule of law. We only wish that the county council had prevented the need for this lengthy and stressful procedure, which only served to put further strain on already stretched public money.

'We would like to thank all the local community in and around Lydford who helped us bring this matter to a sensible and happy conclusion.'

One of their supporters at the inquiry was Marlene Masters from Somerset, who has been giving her services free to those campaigning against such modification orders of bridleways.?She said: 'Lydford is clearly a close-knit rural community and it is a great pity that the matter could not be resolved without recourse to a public inquiry — which had the potential of pitting neighbour against neighbour.'

Mrs Masters added that the inquiry itself demonstrated that both the law and official procedures in claims of alleged public rights of way were extremely complicated and professional representation was often well beyond a person's financial reach; so much so that claims should not be made lightly.

Responding to the decision a Devon County Council spokesperson told the Times: 'The county council has a duty under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to investigate the formal application for a public right of way at Lydford. The test for making a modification order is that a right of way is alleged to subsist and the inspector acknowledged that people had ridden the order route.

'However, he felt that the evidence was not sufficient to satisfy the stricter confirmation test that a right of way subsisted on the balance of probabilities, and therefore could not confirm the order.

'The inspector was satisfied that the county council acted reasonably to make and support the order, and allow the matter to be aired and resolved in the public domain. Consequently, the landowner was refused an application for costs against the county council.'