The woods only has one legal public right of way, which starts on Lawnswood Road and ends in Ridgehill Cottage Garden. The new owners have every right to fence off the remainder of the woods and prevent access from Lodge Lane, should they wish to. This equality applies to the land around Friars Gorse, where people have evidence of using routes other than those marked as public rights of way. We are facilitating modification orders of Ridgehill woods and the surrounding Green Belt to establish either legal rights of way or open access on the definitive map, before it closes in 2026. We have now launched the second modification order for the Friars Gorse area.