A GROUP of rebel North Yorkshire councillors has failed to block a radical policy change designed to clear a massive backlog of applications for footpaths to be made public rights of way.

More than 300 applications for modifications to the definitive rights of way map are awaiting attention by the county council, although current working practices mean that only one is determined each year.

Now the authority wants to advertise its intention to reject about 45 applications which have no reasonable chance of succeeding on available evidence because they fall short of the required legal criteria.

A further 100 applications fall short of the criteria but the applicant might be asked to submit more evidence.

About 150 applications where the evidence is likely to take them beyond the legal criteria would be processed, leaving a residue which might need additional research to make them more robust.

Council legal officers said action was needed to clear the backlog because in researching historical evidence staff were in some cases duplicating work already done by the applicant.

At the annual council meeting on Wednesday, Liberal Democrat, Labour and Independent members unsuccessfully attempted to have the moves referred back to the Conservative-controlled executive, saying there had been lack of consultation with the newly appointed local access forum.

The 18-member forum consists of user groups, landowners, businessmnen and county councillors and was set up to look at rights of way issues and advise the authority.

The council said, however, that it had already sought the formal views of national organisations representing user groups and they had generally agreed that the present arrangements were unsatisfactory.