Margate byway has been blocked (is this legal?)

Just gone to take mum home, got halfway along dane court road and done my usual left onto "broadley road" which is a marked as a usuable road on the OS map and google maps, I got half way along it thru a few rather deep puddles and came to the railway bridge.

before I got to the bridge there was a "road ahead closed" sign I saw this and asked a chap that was sitting in a white van outside one of the cottages if the road could be driven through onto the estate the other side he said that it was open and drivable :-*

So carried on and as I approached the bridge DAMMIT!!! a great big metal container about 10 feet round and about 3 feet deep has been stuck in the middle of the track under the bridge, filled with mud and concrete.


This hasn't been there long as I only went down the said road about 3 maybe 4 days ago and it was clear and looked in good shape even having had some work done recently repairing some large potholes which had spilled into the field.


oh well reversed three quarters of the way back along the road until I found somewhere wide enough and safe enough to turn around and went the long way back to mums (about 4 miles round instead of about a mile)

has this legally been blocked if not is there something I should do or someone I should inform of the blockage so it can be removed as this is quite a well used byway not just by 4x4's but average family cars on a daily basis ?

any advice would be appreciated

Thanks in advance
Jay

P.S I have copied this, my original post from the KORC forum where I have also asked for advice

P.P.S I think I've posted this in the wrong section:doh::doh::doh:

Contact your local right of ways officer matey

Hiya Muddy Gonzo thanks for the reply Would that be this thing where I was advised to send a mail by a member of KORC ???

(message by dk of KORC)

Below is off the KCC website

If you have encountered a problem while using a public right of way in Kent, let us know and our Public Rights of Way team will investigate the issue.You can report a problem by calling us on 0845 345 0210 or emailing the details to the relevant Public Rights of Way team from the list below.

West Kent Public Rights of Way Office:

[email protected] Covers the districts of Dartford, Gravesham, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Malling, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells.

East Kent Public Rights of Way Office:

[email protected] Covers the districts of Ashford, Swale, Thanet, Canterbury, Dover, and Shepway.

Please include the following information in your email so that we can investigate the problem as quickly as possible.

Details of the problem: When did you encounter the problem? Describe the exact location of the problem (using Public Rights of Way numbers if known). Describe the problem.

Personal details to include: Title, first name, last name, e-mail address, home address, telephone number.

The information you provide will be used by Kent County Council to assist with the management of public rights of way. Personal information is required to follow up on the problems raised. It is never passed onto to any third party.



Good Luck and lets us know how you got on

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If so I have sent them an Email just asking for advice and informing them of the blockage. If this isn't the local rights of way officer that you mean is it perhaps a member or rank of this forum ?

Thanks again for the reply

Yeah that sort of thing or contact your local council and ask to be put in touch with the right of ways officer for your area.

Thanks for the help Muddy Gonzo, if I don't get any replyy from that email I'll try going down to the council offices in person and finding out

Failing that get in touch with GLASS and speak to the rep in your area

Personally I'd make sure the police know about it. Technically, if it's a public road then someone unauthorised blocking it is a crime. Or failing that, get some mates down and drag the fecker onto the drive of the person who did it but you would have to know who did it.
I have the same problem with a green lane near me. I assume it's the farmer who keeps laying huge logs across it so you can't drive it. Thankfully they last about a day before someone drags them into the ditch

personally I wouldn't mind moving the obstruction but if it is there for a genuine reason I wouldn't want to end up getting in "doo-doos" for doing so. I have thought about contacting the police about it to see if they can do anything perhaps even go down with them and then if they were to say move it get a few mates together to do so as I doubt my landy on it's own would have any chance of shifting it and I'm not really well enough at the moment to start digging the crap out of it to move it and dragging the thing would probably do untold damage to the road.

although

I decided to drive upto to this lane from the opposite side yesterday, and think I have found a cause of the road being blocked. In the adjacent field to the lane are some very long deep ruts in a farmers field long with some crops that look like they have just been turfed out of the soil by a vehicle that has driven through the field, which leads me to personally believe that the farmer has blocked the road in order to prevent further damage to he's field and crops, in essence he's livelyhood.

In respect to the owner I would be quite upset if someone broke the door down to my shed and damaged my tools or belongs affecting my livelyhood. Hopefully though this will end up being resolved without one of the Six lanes being closed that I know of so far in Thanet ( 2 totally impassable through being overgrown and one now blocked by this container)

at the moment i'm looking at it this way, some rogue has gone up this track, damaged this land and property, farmer has taken law into he's own hands, I'm complaining cos the lanes been blocked and although I'm not the one that caused the damage I myself and other legitamate road users get the short end of the stick.

I suppose it comes down to "quick enough to complain when a lane closes but not when it's getting damaged"

Perhaps if more of us could get together we could come to an arrangement with local farmers we're we would look after the tracks that cross their land and keep an eye out for rougues if they'll help keep the tracks in good order would something of this nature even work

Anyways let's see what happens..... (sighs)

If I don't get any response from this rights of way officer then I'll give GLASS and the police a try.

think yu will find its a civil, not criminal matter - police wont be interested unless there is "fear for life" - it is highways agencies responsibility.

Okay, Now I'm really confused, OS map and Google have this down as a road, can even do a streetview of this road in google maps. but I've just been on trailwise and UID TR3669-01 is marked as a "Footpath" so what is right, trailwise or OS maps/ google.

The Mad Hat Man said:

think yu will find its a civil, not criminal matter - police wont be interested unless there is "fear for life" - it is highways agencies responsibility.

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So is trespass but they would still come out if someone was roaming around your land uninvited.
It's the same as parking width ways across a main road and leaving it there. Drag it in front of his gate and see how he likes it.

jaycraft21 said:

Okay, Now I'm really confused, OS map and Google have this down as a road, can even do a streetview of this road in google maps. but I've just been on trailwise and UID TR3669-01 is marked as a "Footpath" so what is right, trailwise or OS maps/ google.

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I'd put my money on Trailwise.

Being pedantic, but it's odd that this was posted in 'off roading' when we're talking about a road and it'd be better off in 'Greenlaning'.

Well you say it's a well used route so it shouldn't be long before people start to realise and complain. Even if it is a foot path you still can't block it.

Hiya guys, It looks like this isn't the first time this has happened, this news paper article clearly shows certain aspects of this which may help in understanding and solving this.

news article in the "thanet star" <<LINK<<

During 2008, this road was blocked by a large lump of concrete, several explanations are given within the article as to why. including refusal of TDC and KCC submitting repairs to the road saying and I qoute

"According to TDC Broadly Road is not their responsibility and so no action will be taken."

to me this seems fair, and if it is the case I for one would be more than willing to assist as a local resident that uses this road to help maintain it, although I can physically due to disability, do no manual work I would offer my vehicle for the use of clearing the waste that has been dumped on this road and hauling materials that would be required to keep the road in a good usable state, funding for this would be quite easy if enough people donated funds into a "pot" that could be used to keep this road open and safe aswell as contacting local waste control sites like "brazils" to see if they have any usable hardcore or surfacing materials that could be used.

It could also be used to have signs made up informing people of "safe, controlled and considerate" road usage as has already been done by some local councils that control "greenlanes".

The article also says:

"It's placement under the bridge suggests a deliberate attempt to stop people driving along the road (as they are legally entitled to do)."

as you'll see it clearly states that people are legally allowed to drive this route. although this was 2 years ago and would need to be clarified by KCC/TDC.

Another suggestion that may help, which I don't know if it would work or even be acceptable by all parties is:

a voluntary agreement to not use the road during certain times, perhaps from 22:00hrs to 10:00 during the day and say from about 14:30 to 18:30 which would allow safe passage for school children using the road aswell as quite during the night for the residents of the road, if all were to agree to this legitimate road user's could not only see if the condition of the road were deteriating but also would control rogues using this road late at night for joy riding or causing damage to the surrounding lands , basically "policing" the road and others in order to prevent them becoming closed or blocked

a bit like nieghbourhood watch I suppose in essence.


Grippa, Sorry about this, I did "P.P.S" my first post concerning this, I'll contact a mod and ask for it to be moved to the right section, I dropped a boo-boo :doh: (again)

Grippa said:

I'd put my money on Trailwise.

Being pedantic, but it's odd that this was posted in 'off roading' when we're talking about a road and it'd be better off in 'Greenlaning'.

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unless it turns out to be a footpath then it would be offroading

In that article the school kids suggest using gunpowder to clear the obstruction, I second that idea

Would make short work of it, only problem is I think it would take the majority of the railway bridge with it lol

More delays for british rail

The article suggests the road belongs to the person who owns the land. If this is true does that not mean that placing the block there is fly tipping? If you could find the person responsible you could take them to court but you will still have to find them.

A Landy would easily drag that block if you could detach it. You need someone with a gas axe to cut whatever is holding it down.

That was the blockage two years ago in the excact same place, the new one is practically wedged in there tight. the metal container is almost the full width of the opening, I would say you'd have to walk past it sideways with your back up tight against the bridge wall to get past it.