can I claim right of way across a council footpath? This has been on going for Forty years

[rwjb]

Can I claim right of way across a council footpath? This has been on going for Forty years.
The local coucil say I dont have permission and I will need a licence costing �20 / annum

[voltr4m4x]

You fail to make clear whether you want a right of way for walking along a council-owned footpath (in a rambler's sense of the word), or whether you intend to drive a motor vehicle along it. There is a difference.
The local authority may "close" a road (which currently may be unadopted) on one day in any year such that the road becomes "private" and the public do not have an automatic right of access. But if the footpath to which you refer leads to a riverbank, for example, where you (legally) intend to take up fishing (even if the river itself is open to public use) or you intend to exercise your dog, the footpath may be declared "private" and you have no right of way. Examine the Ordnance Survey Map for the particular area and if the particular footpath is marked then you do have a right of way along it. If it isn't then you have a problem.