This is the first Right of Way Claim in which I and the Gateacre Society have been actively involved. As far back as 1994, we suggested paths which, we felt, deserved to be included in Liverpool City Council's Definitive Map. Until this case arose, however, we had relied on the Council to do all the work. I can now understand why only three paths have been added to the map in the 13 years since it was first created in 2005. The task of collecting and interpreting evidence, negotiating with land owners, and consulting with local residents and interest groups such as ours is quite daunting. It is difficult to see how an accurate map can be created and maintained without the appointment of a full-time Rights of Way Officer.

At an early stage, immediately after the wall was built by the Byron Court Management Company, we described the omission of the Glenacres pedestrian route from the Definitive Map as "a mistake". We continue to hold this view. Residents of Byron Court talked to officers from the Planning and Highways Departments in 2015 and were told that the path was not on the Definitive Map, and that a wall would not require planning permission. But, as we also said at the time of our Claim, the advice they were given was misleading.

If a route is shown on the Definitive Map, then it is definitely a Right of Way. But the omission of a route from the map does not mean that it is not a Right of Way. That was the flaw in the advice given by Council officers to the Byron Court residents in 2015 - and to the local residents who complained about the wall in March 2016. In Liverpool, the Definitive Map adopted by the Council in 2004/5 was essentially an interim version. Only 54 of the 140 Rights of Way that had been identified on previous 'unofficial' maps - drawn up by voluntary groups and individuals - were included on the Definitive Map. Lack of resources has prevented the Council carrying out the intended one-by-one examination of the remainder.

Continued . . .