Decision Report 201501498

Summary

Mrs C complained that a track running next to her house on land she owned was included in a public list of core paths identified by the council, intended to give walkers and cyclists recreational access throughout an area. Mrs C thought she, her neighbour and the Forestry Commission had the exclusive right to use the track. She said nobody consulted with her directly before including the track in the core path network. We found there was a general right of access for walkers and cyclists to land and inland water throughout Scotland. Mrs C provided no evidence that her track was excluded from this and we found that, even before the track was designated as a core path, people had the right to walk on it. We found that the council were not obliged to consult directly with individual landowners under the legislation and concluded that the council's public consultation had been reasonable.