Devon County Council has responded to a letter which asked for the footpath which runs behind the Old Mill site to be designated a public right of way.

In its response to the letter from Okehampton Town Council, the county council argued that there was no need to designate the pathway as a public right of way as it was already being maintained at public expense.

Devon County Council responded: ‘The route you refer to is already included on the County Council’s List of Streets (the legal record of highways maintainable at public expense) as a linking footway, so it would not be necessary to also record it as a public footpath on the definitive map.’

The response concludes a contentious decision in May to ask the county council to designate the footpath as a legal right of way on the basis that it had been used as such for the past 20 years and been subject to funding by a number of public organisations.

Currently, the footpath is closed for safety reasons as the Old Mill has been deemed structurally unsafe by surveyors.

Under law, county councils, national parks or other highway authorities must maintain public rights of way by ensuring that road or pathway is in a fit state for public use. This could include removing obstructions, maintaining footbridges, adding signage and ensuring landowners carry out their duties.

Landowners are responsible for making sure that the route remains visible to the public and must not block the route in any way.