Public rights of way

What is a public right of way (PRoW)?

A public right of way is a route which the public have a legal right to use. They can be broken down into 4 categories, each with different legal status:

Footpaths - may be used by people on foot
Bridleways - may be used for walking, riding or leading a horse, or pedal cycling - but cyclists must give way to pedestrians and riders
Restricted Byways - can be used by pedestrians, horse-riders, cyclists and horse drawn carts and carriages
Byways - can be used by wheeled vehicles of any kind, but predominantly used for walking or for riding horses.

Other routes include:

A Green Lane - which is an unsurfaced track usually bounded by hedges and often established a long time ago. The term has no legal meaning and if there is a public right of way along such a track, it will be classified under one of the above headings.
Permitted paths - These are not highways, but they are routes which landowners allow the public to use, sometimes for a set period of time. They can be closed at any time but often form valuable links in the path network. The Borough Council encourages these (although not as alternatives to recorded public rights of way) and can provide advice and signs to those wishing to establish such paths.

For further information about types of rights of way please refer to the Directgov website.

Why are they important?

They are part of our heritage with many of our routes having been traditionally used by farmers, quarrymen and miners whilst others were travelled by pack horses or drovers. These simple paths and tracks remain important to us today, though often for different reasons.

They offer people the choice of healthier, sustainable forms of transport and recreation away from busy urban areas.

Whose responsibility is it to maintain our PRoW?

The borough council and landowners have a joint responsibility to protect and maintain the 77km (48 miles) of public rights of way throughout the Borough. Further information can be found to the right of this page.

How can I report a problem with a PRoW?

If you have encountered a problem while using a Public Right of Way in Bracknell Forest, let us know by filling out a public rights of way feedback form and our team will investigate the issue.

Please note that this is an online form so you won't need to print anything off.

This form should not be used to report problems with highways or pavements. Please use our customer enquiry form to notify us of any other problems.