Successful legal challenge will restore picturesque route for all users

The Green Lane Association has won a legal battle which will compel Gwynedd Council to repair a byway in a scenic west Wales valley so that it can once again be enjoyed by walkers, cyclists, horse riders and drivers.

The Association has obtained a consent order under section 56 of the Highways Act 1980, at Llandudno Magistrates Court, which will see part of the Cwm Maethlon byway, near Machynlleth, improved for all users. The court also ordered the council to pay the Association’s legal fees for bringing the action.

There have been problems with the route, also known as Happy Valley, for the last seven years. The surface of the byway has deteriorated over time, including after suffering damage during Storm Doris in 2018. Later that year, the Association successfully worked with Snowdonia National Park Authority to carry out repairs. The Association funded the work which brought this section of the route back into good repair.

Unfortunately, a later section of the byway then deteriorated to the point where it was impassable to all users and anyone, including walkers, cyclists and horse riders, trying to use this section of the byway, had to go onto a protected landscape in order to pass through. The Association again sought to work with SNPA to carry out repairs but these efforts were unsuccessful and the Authority, which has day-to-day responsibility for highways in the area, imposed a Traffic Regulation Order on the route to ban motorised access because the byway was in such a poor state.

After the Association tried repeatedly to engage with both SNPA and Gwynedd Council about helping with repairs, the situation remained unchanged and the Association was left with no option but to serve a Section 56 notice on Gwynedd Council, which has overall legal responsibility for highways in the area. After two procedural hearings, the council agreed to the consent order without going to trial.  The order states that the council must repair the surface of the route and carry out drainage work between two specified points within 12 months so that it can once again be enjoyed by all users, including those in vehicles.

Green Lane Association Vice Chairman Chris Mitchell said: “This is a great result for everyone who wants to access our countryside in a responsible way without encountering accessibility problems. This was a route that had not been maintained for several years, despite the local authority having a statutory duty to do so. We would have much-preferred to work with the national park authority and the local authority to help carry out repair works but, unfortunately, despite efforts to arrange this, it was not possible. Taking legal action was a measure of last resort and we are pleased that so many users will now be able to enjoy the beauty of the route again, as is their right.

“While we recognise this as a significant success in our fight against the unfair exclusion of users from public rights of way, the Association is reminding its members, and other users, that they are expected to comply strictly with our code of conduct when using the route.”