Furniture

From GPG

The primary concern of a rights of way officer is that the public can use the routes. A gap is the best and cheapest way to get through a wall or hedge. If landowners/ farmers have stock which they wish to control, then that is their problem! They should get authorisation for a stile or gate, provide an appropriate device, and maintain it (but see 1980 Highways Act ss.66 and 147 plus a few other exceptions).

Note too the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act whereby disabled persons and those with mobility problems should not be prevented from gaining access to a path or land where they have a right to go because of the entry furniture. In simple terms, if the terrain and/or path are such that a disabled person might go there, then the access control device must not prevent them gaining access. In even simpler terms - it is likely to need a gate, not a stile. (See Disability Discrimination Acts, DDA in practice good practice and advice from Natural England and Needs of People with Disabilities.)

For bridleways there are statutory provisions on widths of gates (Highways Act s.145) and BS5709:2006 requires that they should be openable while mounted.

Many proprietary devices are offered to authorities and landholders as being advanced forms of stile, gate, grid or barrier. Many of them are made in galvanised metal which makes them wholly out of place in a rural setting. RoW staff are urged to ensure that the access devices they approve or install are of a type which blend in with the countryside.

See also Gaps, Gates and Stiles and Bridges.