The ‘Clip CLOP’ Appeal

UPDATE January 2025

The Planning Inspectorate have (finally) appointed an Inspector to deal with this matter, and confirmed that a local Public Inquiry will be held to determine the outcome of the competing claims. This is scheduled to take place over 3 days, starting on Sept 9th 2025, and is to be held at the Festival Drayton Centre, Market Drayton.

After a 10 year campaign we hope that our considerable body of evidence, plus some compelling witnesses, all combine to bring success. Many thanks again to those who have contributed to the fund raising appeal – and it’s not to late to add to our funds, see information below.

Previous Update May 2024

At last Shropshire Council have sent all the required papers off to the Planning Inspectorate, such that the next (and final) stage of the process can begin. However, the inspectorate have a backlog of such cases so we have no choice but to await further news from them on their proposed timetable for dealing with our case.

As we are now nearly 9 years into this convoluted process, being pragmatic, what is another year! The delays have at least allowed us time to continue to refine and collate our evidence, and we are now chasing those last few folk who have promised us written statements about their past use. We will keep everyone informed of developments via this page or direct email if we hold your details.

Previous Update Sept 2023

We are very grateful for those who have got in touch to help us, and especially those who have donated to our appeal fund – you know who you are!. We are pleased to have raised a considerable amount, which is perhaps testament to the strength of local feeling on this matter, and have also re-affirmed the formal backing of both parish councils involved too. Of course, we do not know exactly how much £ we will need, so additional/further donations are still very welcome.

That said, we are unfortunately still waiting for Shropshire Council to pass the papers to the planning inspectorate so that the next stage of proceedings can begin. We will of course keep suppprters informed of developments.

ORIGINAL WEBSITE CONTENT IS BELOW

The Clip CLOP* appeal is being jointly run by the Hodnet and Stoke upon Tern Footpath Groups: primarily to help finance professional representation at an expected Public Inquiry (PI) into a claimed Public Right of Way (PROW) between the two villages, but also to raise awareness of a longer running campaign.

The claimed route (until blocked by new landowners) had been used for many decades by people living in Ollerton and Peplow, as well as others from further afield, and had been used on foot, by horse or by bike. See ‘more information’ below for full details.

If we can successfully make our case at the PI, local residents and the wider public will obtain permanent legal access to a safe/traffic free route between the two villages – and saving a long detour to cross the River Tern elsewhere. It will also open up connections between existing nearby PROW, enabling longer rides/walks in the local area.

Please help us to fight for your right to access this route!

*The appeal’s name alludes to the use of the route by Bicycles (i.e. bike ‘clips’) and Horses (i.e. ‘clop’ of horses hooves) – as we hope to have the route confirmed as a public bridleway, i.e legal use by horse or bicycle riders as well as those on foot.

3 WAYS YOU CAN HELP

Primarily by making an (anonymous) donation, using the BACS details below, to help fund proper presentation of our case.

Secondly by sharing news of this campaign amongst your friends, acquaintances, neighbours or other (social media) contacts. You may also wish to download, print and display our awareness/support poster HERE – Note. This may not download via a mobile ‘phone, but will work via a PC or laptop.

And finally if you have ever used this route but have not yet done so, please get in touch and complete a ‘user statement’ – a recognised form that captures brief details of your past use. We’d particularly like more statements from people who have used the route on horse or bike, but all statements are valuable in helping to show that people used the route freely in the past. Note. Absolute numbers of user statements count, so it is important that each past user completes their own statement, i.e. do not assume that one statement per couple or family is ‘representative of multiple users. So please consider if you could ask anyone else (partners/children/friends/relatives) that you have used the route with/who you know used it, to complete their own statements.

Statement forms, an accompanying map and briefing notes can be obtained on request from Graham Bould, Clerk, at stokeparishcouncil@hotmail.co.uk Completed forms should be returned to Graham, who is also the initial contact for more information – but note that a response may come directly from another member of the working group handling the issue.

If you wish to get in touch with a member of the Clip CLOP team, please email rich.roamin@gmail.com or search for Hodnet Footpath Group on Facebook.

Thank you.

DONATIONS

If you’d like to donate using BACS, please use the bank details below and use the word Appeal as the reference. If you’d like to use other methods, please get in touch with Steve Alden (Treasurer) at stevenalden53@yahoo.com

Account Name: Hodnet Footpath Group

Bank: NatWest

Sort Code: 01-05-48

Account No: 40196267

If you are able to help, please accept our sincere thanks.

MORE INFORMATION

Route Map: The claimed route crosses the River Tern on the only bridge for some miles in either direction, and runs between Ollerton Lodge and Peplow Chapel. Part of it parallels an existing path, FP9, that terminates at no particular destination and is, for all intents and purposes, unused.

History: For a long time people used an established track between Ollerton Lodge and Peplow Chapel to cross the River Tern – and in doing so access each others communities or services within them. Even though another similar route was partially claimed as a footpath (shown as FP9 on the map), and thus legally recorded when the first official PROW maps were drawn up in the 1950’s, the route the subject of this campaign was not – even though it was widely recognised at the time to be in use. As such, its continued use by the public relied upon the tolerance/goodwill of the respective landowners of Ollerton Park and Peplow Hall (now in separate ownership, but in the past all owned by Peplow Hall).

Action: Worried that expected changes to land ownership at each end of the claimed route might jeopardise future use, a group of residents got together in 2015 to start to collect evidence of past use and submit a claim to Shropshire Council (SC) to have the route formally recognised via a Definitive Map Modification Order (DMMO) – i.e. amending the official public rights of way map to show it. This work was later taken over by Stoke upon Tern Parish Council, and endorsed by Hodnet Parish Council (the route spans two parishes), with the claim formally submitted in 2016.

Nothing happened for a year or so (other than the new landowners erecting gates and challenging/preventing use), but SC were eventually instructed to investigate the claim within a set deadline. However, their work appeared to be hampered by the advent of the Covid 19 pandemic, e.g closed archives/lack of access to providers of user statements, and with the deadline upon them they declined to make the requested order – largely on grounds of insufficient submitted/discovered evidence.

2020 Appeal: An expanded working group was then established by Stoke upon Tern PC, which led to a formal appeal being made: with large amounts of extra evidence obtained (past user statements and historical research) and submitted – with user statements being a key item of evidence (whilst we now have a considerable number more would be welcome, especially from cyclists/horse riders).

After lengthy consideration, again impacted by Covid 19 restrictions, the Planning Inspectorate upheld the appeal in late 2021, and SC were instructed to issue a DMMO, making the route official, by August 2022. That order has now been published, and can be viewed via this notice.

What’s Next? The landowners have a right of appeal against the order, and with it having been exercised the case has to be examined all over again – but now within the more formal process of a Public Inquiry. As a legal process it is very important that our case is presented fully and professionally, and to that end Stoke upon Tern PC have instructed a well regarded PROW expert to handle it. This entails some cost, estimated to be at least £5000, but with the coming inquiry the last opportunity to obtain what is sought, by so many, we cannot let it pass by – there will be no second chance!

Funding: Money to finance the start of the required work is being provided by Stoke upon Tern PC, with matching funding from Hodnet Parish Council. However, with final costs uncertain we need to raise a separate fighting fund – hence this appeal.

If everyone who has used the route in the past were to make a basic, say £10, donation we’d raise nearly £1000; but just a little more from some, plus donations from other potential beneficiaries or interested parties/groups could make a big difference – and we’d of course welcome any specific larger donations (named or anonymously – as preferred).

Note. Funds raised by this campaign will be directly applied to cover necessary PI costs/expenses; but in the unlikely event that the funds raised are not fully required, any balance will be donated to other bodies engaged in similar work, e.g. The Ramblers or the British Horse Society.

If you’ve read this far, thank you – and if it has inspired you to share our message and/or contribute to our campaign, thank you very much.