It is often reported that the disused footpaths in England are gradually being swallowed up by new housing developments. There was even an instance a few years ago where ramblers, in their attempt to draw attention to this plight, used a right of way law to pass right through a house that was meant to be private property.
The problem is that many of the footpaths under question have long since been disused, and without the local knowledge that was once held by our elders, people have simply forgotten they exist. This is where consulting planning maps can be a useful practice, not to disrupt the lives of existing tenants that have inadvertently found themselves slap bang in the middle of a footpath; but in the reclamation and accumulation of local knowledge.
These footpaths form an important part of our heritage, mapping the routes that our ancestors used to use to travel between towns and villages. In fact, many of our highways are routes that were so popular they became heavily trafficked and were justifiably turned into roads. Planning maps are a schematic representative of these footpaths and the boundaries of other people's property and are made readily available by local councils to avoid conflict.
Planning maps are available to the public so that any work undertaken, such as erecting fences and removing walls is done legally. Planning maps can also be used by local authorities for infrastructure purposes. Often it is necessary to be able to view the area as a photograph as well to properly determine the areas that lie over the boundaries and for greater recognition when surveying a site.
These aerial maps when used in conjunction with planning maps form a comprehensive overview of an area and are often the best combination to solve disputes over boundaries in court. Sometimes it can be a simple matter such as felling a tree that isn't actually on the property that needs to be addressed. To settle such a dispute both aerial photographs and planning maps need to be used together.
Dom Donaldson is a mapping expert. Find out more about Planning Maps and aerial photos for identifying boundaries at Get Mapping.
Tags: culture, society, mapping, social issues, aerial photos, planning maps, boundary disputes