Glenn Proctor wrote:
Councils must keep a definitive map of rights of way in their area. This seems to be on an OS map, so it is subject to the council's licence agreement.Following on from this, am I correct in assuming that the only definitive source of mapping information about public rights of way is the OS? It seems ludicrous that *public* rights of way are effectively copyrighted in this manner. I suppose it's analagous to the issue with council boundaries. The councils can't release the info unless they find another way to store it (whilst it is on an OS map it is subject to the OS licence). If I put myself in their shoes when first expected to record these routes, how would I store a record of a public footpath - on an OS map, what other place was there? You might even find that the statute expects them to use an OS map - OS is the national mapping agency. The boundary committee who determine the boundaries of counties, UAs etc must use the OS by law (it is explicitly written into the statute that the committee define the boundaries but the OS draw them on an OS map.My local council (Suffolk) refer to the "definitive map" here: https://www.csduk.com/CSD/Transportandstreets/Public+rights+of+way/PublicRightsOf+WayDefinitiveMap.htmbut make no mention of who owns the copyright. They do however recommend (OS) Explorer maps for walkers, which suggests it may be the OS. Wouldn't it be great if we could persuade councils to let OSM use the information, free of restrictions? Or maybe even add it to OSM themselves. Hey, we can all dream ... I'm not happy about this but it does seem to be the way it is. Our best way forward is to get out there with GPS and camera in hand and record what we find. Glenn. |
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