Man wins 12-year battle to have footpath reopened

The popular track across countryside above Weymouth had been enjoyed by walkers for over a century.

But the long-established route was closed off to the public in 2009 by landowners Paul and Louise Rookes who said there was too much dog fouling going on.

Although a metal gate was erected to block the path, walkers simply climbed over it to access the hillside and the stunning views of Weymouth Bay.

Pic: David McCune/BNPS Pictured: One of the gates was blocked with earth.

Ramblers then found the top of the gate coated in a sticky and gooey black substance to deter them from climbing it but that didn't work.

It was only when barbed wire was added that the walkers admitted defeat - all apart from one.

Pic: David McCune/BNPS Pictured: A barbed wire fence was put over the kissing gate to stop walkers

David McCune, then aged 68, submitted an application to the local authority to have the track designated as an official right of way so it could be reopened.

He went from house-to-house in the local area to find 90 people who signed letters stating the track had been used as a right of way for over 10 years.

But the wheels of bureaucracy moved painfully slowly and it wasn't until 2015 that the then Dorset County Council ruled in favour of Mr McCune's application.

The landowners and two other people then objected to the legal order to make the footpath official and the matter had to be referred to the planning inspectorate.

The government agency finally decided to make it a legal right of way at the end of last year and the path has now been reopened.

Pic: David McCune/BNPS. There's now a new kissing gate for walkers.

Mr McCune, now aged 80, is enjoying daily walks along the scenic footpath with his elderly Jack Russell dogs Millie and Paddi, who were aged four and one, when the route closed.

Mr McCune, a retired engineer, said: "I was determined to fight it but never in my life did I think it would take so long.

"My neighbour who has since passed away used to enjoy the walk and would stop and have a look over the bay, but that was taken away from him in his final years.

"Closing the path stopped a lot of people from enjoying the countryside.

"Over the years people I would pass by would stop and ask me if there was any news on the footpath yet, well now they don't have to.

"I feel vindicated in the end."

Mr McCune, a widower, said his local research turned up a 120-year-old map outlining the path that linked Verlands Road in Preston to Osmington via the famous hillside chalk figure of King George III on a horse.

The start of the path is directly opposite Mr McCune's bungalow home at the top of a hillside cul-de-sac.

He said: "There was a lane that used to service agricultural fields going back to the late 1800s. People used it to get access to the hill and the extremely beautiful views out to the bay.

"In 2003 the fields changed hands and the new owners decided they didn't want people walking along the path as it was bad for dog fouling.

"They put gates up but that didn't stop people because they climbed over them. Then some sticky gooey gunge appeared on the gate that got on your clothes but that also wasn't enough to put people off. But once the barbed wire went up, that really stopped people.

"I took advice from the local council and was told to apply to make the path an official right of way and since then it has just rolled through the system.

"It hasn't cost me anything financially, just time and effort."

Pic: ZacharyCulpin/BNPS Pictured: Back on the track - David McCune takes his dogs, Millie and Paddi for a walk on the public footpath.

A spokesman for Dorset Council said: "A route which was used by the public but not legally recorded as public right of way was obstructed by landowner in 2009. Mr McCune then applied to Dorset Council to have the path recorded as public right of way.

"The matter was determined by Dorset Council in 2015. Objections were received to the subsequent legal order and the matter had to be referred to Secretary of State for determination in 2019 and the planning inspector issued a final decision in 2021 and the path was reponed soon after and is now available for public use.

"The delays in the process were caused by a backlog of cases within definitive map team and the planning inspectorate."

The Rookes declined to comment on the matter.