Your evidence is essential – please print and return a User Evidence Form to SPC
Update – 6 January 2026:
Saltford Parish Council is pleased to confirm that we have now received approximately 15 user evidence forms in support of securing public right of way status for Saltford’s historic greenway.
To enable an application to Bath & North East Somerset (B&NES) Council for a Definitive Map Modification Order (DMMO), a minimum of 25 user evidence forms is required. We are therefore close to the threshold, and any further support from residents would be greatly appreciated.
If you have accessed the greenway for a minimum of 20 years and are able to submit a form, your contribution could make a crucial difference in helping to protect this historic route for public use.
Full information on the project, along with guidance and access to the user evidence forms, can be found below under ‘Original article published 11 December 2025‘.
Thank you to everyone who has already contributed their evidence and support. (Image above taken early January 2026.)
Update – 17 December 2025:
Thank you to those residents who have completed and returned User Evidence Forms to date. SPC’s continuing to work towards gaining the 25+ required and your contribution has helped make a strong start! Please note that any forms received around 17 December onwards will be acknowledged by SPC (if an email address is provided on the form) after 5 January, due to staff leave. Also, that if dropping off by hand, that access to the Saltford Community Library and PO building (where the SPC Office is located) will not be available from 1pm Christmas Eve until 9am on Monday 5 January. Thank you again for the resident support expressed for SPC’s DMMO application, it’s very much appreciated.
Original article – published 11 December 2025:
Saltford Parish Council (SPC) is beginning the process of applying for a Definitive Map Modification Order (DMMO) to formally recognise the well-used ‘greenway’ path – running behind the Bird in Hand pub, and linking Mead Lane with the LMS bridge beside the Bristol to Bath Railway Path – as an official Public Right of Way (PROW).
Although widely used for decades, the greenway is not currently recorded as a PROW on the Definitive Map held by Bath & North East Somerset Council (B&NES). SPC views that the greenway has been omitted in error. The Definitive Map and Statement is a legal document, and any change to it can only be made through a formal legal process.
To apply for a DMMO and put this right, SPC requires strong supporting evidence to be submitted alongside its application. SPC has been advised that it needs to gather at least 25 signed User Evidence Forms from residents who have used the path over the past 20+ years as part of its DMMO application.
Securing PROW status will help protect this historic route, ensure continued public access, and hopefully strengthen SPC’s ability to oppose unsuitable proposals affecting the greenway in future.
Further information about the DMMO process is available on B&NES Council’s page ‘Apply to modify the Definitive Map and Statement‘.
View of the greenway from Mead Lane, at What3Words: https://what3words.com/butlers.usages.belts
View of the greenway from the LMS bridge (adjacent to the Bristol to Bath Railway Path) at What3Words: https://what3words.com/linked.practical.holdings
Why your evidence matters
A DMMO can be made when there is evidence that the public has used a route openly, without permission, and without challenge for at least 20 years. Many Saltford residents have used this path for walking, dog walking, commuting, recreation and accessing the Railway Path – your memories and experiences could be crucial.
SPC views that formally recognising the greenway as a Public Right of Way on the Definitive Map will help:
- ~ Protect a long-established walking route for future generations;
- ~ Safeguard its historic character;
- ~ Strengthen SPC’s ability to respond to proposals (such as those in the WECA consultation) that may affect safety, access, or the rural setting;
- ~ Ensure public access remains secure in law.
Evidence from the early 2000s or earlier is especially valuable.
The above map shows Public Rights of Way (PROW) routes in the immediate area to the greenway (marked in purple), according to the Definitive Map. As can be seen, the greenway is not currently marked as a PROW.
About the greenway
The greenway:
- ~ Runs behind the Bird in Hand pub from Mead Lane to the LMS* bridge.
- ~ Appears on historic maps from the late 19th and early 20th centuries (see images below).
- ~ Likely originated as the route to ‘Kelston (for Saltford)’ Railway Station in the 1860s. Unusually for a railway station there was no road access – Kelston Station was instead accessed on foot from the village via this path. See p.4 of Chris Warren’s ‘History of the Railways at Saltford’ talk on the SEG website (under ‘The new kid in town’ section) for the history of the Midland Railway – later the London, Midland and Scottish Railway – through Saltford.
- ~ The greenway sits on former railway land – the former railway land in Saltford is now owned and managed by B&NES Council; it may be that the whole area – including the ‘greenway’ – is viewed by B&NES Council as part of the Bristol to Bath Railway Path and that B&NES Council gives permission for access on the greenway.
Approximate location (What3Words): Between butlers.usages.belts and linked.practical.holdings
What3Words map annotated by SPC in purple to indicate the approximate location of the greenway. The What3Word locations as linked above are shown as purple squares to indicate the general start and end of the greenway.
SPC’s collection of historic map evidence (to be submitted to B&NES) can be downloaded for resident’s information here. SPC gathered this evidence from (or signposted from) Saltford Environment Group’s (SEG) Online Map Room.
Image above taken from map evidence to be submitted to B&NES Council by SPC, as part of its DMMO application. The image shows a map of Saltford from 1883-84 with the location of the greenway circled. Map sourced from the National Library of Scotland website, as signposted from SEG’s Online Map room.
Image above taken from map evidence to be submitted to B&NES Council by SPC, as part of its DMMO application. The image shows a map of Saltford from 1902/3 as taken from the National Library of Scotland website.
*Originally the Midland Railway – later the ‘London, Midland and Scottish (LMS) Railway’.
How you can help – Please complete a User Evidence Form
1. Download, print, and complete the User Evidence Form*
The form* can be completed by hand and must be signed with a handwritten ‘wet’ signature (not typed).
Residents may find that filling it in digitally before printing is awkward – handwritten completion is recommended by B&NES Council.
User Evidence Form (Word) (includes blank map)
User Evidence Form (PDF) (includes blank map)
SPC will look to leave blank forms on the SPC Office desk for residents to collect and complete, pending agreement from Saltford PO & Library.
* The form is taken from the official B&NES DMMO Application Pack. To view or download the original version (without SPC’s blank map) visit B&NES Council’s page ‘Apply to modify the Definitive Map and Statement‘.
2. Add any supporting evidence
You can include:
- ~ Old photographs,
- ~ Annotated maps,
- ~ Any other details
SPC has added a blank map page to p.5 of the form for annotation (as permitted by B&NES), see image below. A copy of the blank map can also be downloaded here, to print, annotate and attach to your form.
Please feel free to attach any other further relevant information to your application.
3. Return the form to SPC
You can return your signed form to Saltford Parish Council in one of three ways:
By post:
Saltford Parish Council Office
c/o Saltford Community Library & Post Office
478A Bath Road
Saltford
BS31 3DJ
Drop-off in person:
Please leave your completed User Evidence Form on SPC’s desk or in the SPC post box at the back of the Saltford Community Library and Post Office during opening hours.
For opening times, please view the Saltford Community Library and Post Office Hub website.
(Please note: The Saltford Community Post Office and Library will be closed from the afternoon of Wednesday 24 December 2025 and will re-open on Monday 5 January 2026. Forms cannot be left during this period).
By email:
Send a scanned copy of your signed form to:
clerk@saltfordparishcouncil.gov.uk
(Scans must show a handwritten signature to be used as part of SPC’s application.)
SPC complies fully with data protection regulations; your information will be used solely for this DMMO application.
Please also share this information with friends and neighbours, or any relevant groups or organisations – community support is vital to enable an application for a DMMO to be made.
SPC has inserted a copy of the above map to the User Evidence Form, which can be annotated to show the location / route of the greenway. Alternatively a copy of the above image can be downloaded, annotated and attached to your application here.
What happens next & will SPC’s actions result in a PROW?
Once SPC has gathered the required 25+ forms, it will submit the DMMO application to B&NES Council.
The sooner evidence is received, the sooner the process can begin; DMMOs typically take around 1 year (minimum) to 3 years (pending any other information received to B&NES Council) for an outcome decision to be reached.
B&NES Council has confirmed that it will start processing the DMMO application on receipt (we’re pleased to share that B&NES Council does not have a backlog of DMMO applications, unlike some other local authorities).
SPC cannot know in advance whether its DMMO application will succeed; the decision can only be made once the legal process has been completed. The greenway sits on former railway land now owned and managed by B&NES Council, and B&NES may take the view that this land—including the greenway—is simply part of the Bristol to Bath Railway Path, with public access provided by permission rather than by right. If so, the path may not automatically qualify as a Public Right of Way.
By applying for a DMMO, SPC is seeking to test and, if necessary, challenge this interpretation so that a final, legally binding decision can be made on whether the greenway should be added to the Definitive Map as a Public Right of Way.
Updates will be published on SPC’s website via meeting agendas where relevant, and minutes (likely under the Clerk’s Announcements section if not under a specific agenda item). SPC will also look to share updates on its social media pages.
Why SPC is seeking PROW status
At its December meeting, SPC agreed to apply for a DMMO because the path has seen continuous public use for over 20 years, historic mapping supports long-standing public use, and that it viewed that it had been omitted from the Definitive Map. At the meeting, it was recognised that evidence from residents would be essential to make a robust application.
Further to its December decision, SPC also considers the greenway unsuitable for cycling-focused proposals as included in the recent WECA ‘A4 Bath to Bristol’ consultation, citing safety, environmental impact, and the historic rural character of the path.
Please view SPC’s full response to the ‘Bird in Hand Connection’ on page 6 of its consultation response, as published in SPC’s website article at Have Your Say on the WECA ‘A4 Bath to Bristol’ Consultation (21 October – 2 December 2025).
SPC will look to have as a future agenda item to discuss and resolve whether to request B&NES Council cease permission for cyclists to use the greenway for safety reasons (as detailed in its response to the WECA consultation) and instead that access to the Bristol to Bath Path from Avon Lane in Saltford is improved (again, for safety reasons).
Please find details about SPC’s meetings, including SPC’s Public Engagement Guidelines, on its ‘Meetings – Agendas and Minutes‘ page.
Thank you!
By completing and returning a signed a User Evidence Form to SPC, you are helping our application which we hope will assist in preserving Saltford’s heritage at this location, help safeguard an important walking route, and ensure it remains accessible for generations to come by achieving its formal recognition as a Public Right of Way.
SPC is very grateful for your support.