Oi, Strata, leave 
alone!
Persimmon, take a hike off !!
Whose footpaths, Stancliffe? !
Our Castle has stood for over 400 years. should too.
Never underestimate the power of collective action for !
It’s not Bolsover ‘til we say it’s over. Hands off !
547 new homes from Strata, Persimmon and Stancliffe cross Footpaths 30, 31 and 33. Derbyshire County Council has confirmed the replacements on the table are permissive paths — routes a landowner can shut at any time, without notice. No Diversion Order has been submitted yet. The consultation that decides this hasn’t opened yet.
What to do right now
Nothing can be formally objected to yet — because nothing has been formally submitted. These steps put you first in line for the moment it is.
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Step 1
Get Old Bolsover Town Council on record
Ask your town councillor and the Clerk to confirm that when a Diversion Order for Footpaths 30, 31 and 33 lands, it goes to a full Council meeting — not just the Clerk — and that residents are told directly, not left to find it on the planning portal.
The Council can't object to a proposal that doesn't exist yet. It can commit to scrutinising it properly the moment it does.
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Step 2
Ask Bolsover District Council to notify you
Request formal notice the moment a Diversion Order application is submitted, and ask that any replacement paths be recorded on the Definitive Map as full rights of way — not left permissive.
DCC confirmed: permissive paths proposed -
Step 3
Ask the BDC Leader to hold Planning to account
Write to Jane Yates, Leader of Bolsover District Council, asking her to make sure the Planning Department engages transparently with the community once the Order is submitted.
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Step 4
Be ready to object the day it opens
Every resident gets the legal right to object once the Order is submitted, and every single objection has to be individually resolved. One unresolved objection can force a full independent Planning Inspectorate hearing — developers can’t override it, and the council can’t ignore it.
Objection windows can be short. Watch this space.
Next steps toolkit
What we're asking for
- Any permanent diversion is genuinely equivalent to the paths it replaces — in distance, character, amenity and accessibility.
- All replacement paths are recorded on the Definitive Map as full public rights of way, not permissive paths.
- The informal paths already crossing the Bolsover North SUE Phase 2 site are recognised and replaced, not simply built over.
- Bolsover District Council notifies the community the moment a Diversion Order is submitted.
- Residents and campaign representatives are treated as consultees on future planning affecting footpaths across the district.
- Old Bolsover Town Council scrutinises the diversion at a full Council or extraordinary meeting — not the Clerk alone.
- Elected representatives at every level back residents' right to object once consultation opens.
Why this matters
Marked "campaign position" where we're arguing a case, and "fact checked" where confirmed by an official source. See Facts Checked below for the primary evidence.
Roads and open space aren’t a like-for-like swap
Walking through a housing estate on pavements and managed open space is a different experience from open countryside. A lawful diversion has to be no less convenient than the route it replaces — this one reads as a downgrade.
Campaign positionThe paths were known about a decade before they were moved
The developers have known about Footpaths 30, 31 and 33 since outline permission in 2014. A responsible scheme designs around existing rights of way; this one designed the housing first and applied to move the paths after.
Campaign positionPermissive paths can vanish without warning
DCC has confirmed permissive paths are part of the proposed replacements. A landowner can close a permissive path at any time, with no notice and no legal process — the community would have no recourse if that happened.
Campaign positionThe informal paths people already use are simply disappearing
Well-worn informal paths already cross the development site. As it stands they’re being built over entirely, with no recognition and no replacement offered.
Campaign positionFacts checked
Sourced from official orders, the district council's own decision notices, and written correspondence.
TC4444
Footpaths 30 and 31 closed 1 July 2026 – 1 January 2027 for public safety during earthworks. A road diversion via Steel Lane, Welbeck Road and Elmton Lane is signed.
DCC complaints
Derbyshire County Council confirmed it received 54 emails complaining about Temporary Closure Orders TC4444 (Footpaths 30 and 31) and TC4443 (part of Footpath 33) in Old Bolsover Parish between 1 May 2026 and the date of the request. However, the council stated that none of these could be classed as formal objections — regardless of wording used, including explicit statements of “I object” — because temporary closures aren’t subject to public consultation, so there’s no formal objection process to begin with. The council said all 54 correspondents received a response explaining this, and none subsequently asked to withdraw or disregard their email. No emails supporting the closures were received, which the council said was unsurprising given the lack of a consultation process.
TC4443
Part of Footpath 33 closed 1 July – 1 December 2026 for construction safety. No alternative route is provided — walkers are directed nowhere.
DCC LTR
DCC confirmed temporary closures carry no legal requirement for community consultation or objection — and confirmed nothing stopped them consulting voluntarily. They chose not to.
DCC LTR
DCC confirmed in writing that permissive paths are proposed for most of the diverted route length, running through open space.
25/00069
BDC’s own decision notice states planning permission does not give developers the right to interfere with these paths until a Diversion Order is formally made. No Order has been submitted; the Public Path Order consultation hasn’t opened.
COND. 2
Condition 2 of the decision notice requires footpath surfacing details to be resubmitted and approved before development starts — the legal status of the replacement routes is still undecided.
2014
Strata Homes, Persimmon Homes and Stancliffe Homes have known about these paths since the original outline permission was granted in 2014.
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