Public Rights of Way
“It is nearly four months since I last updated this message, and we seem to have had all four seasons of weather during that time. The vegetation on rights of way around County Durham has certainly been growing very successfully, meaning that our small clearance team has been much overstretched. A network of nearly 3474 km (more than 2158 miles) means that we have to be systematic in making best use of our limited resources. Inevitably that means that not everyone’s favourite path gets cut exactly when they would like it, and we can’t afford to cut some paths at all, so if your local paths are overgrown please be patient and we will try and get to it before too long.
Alice Gull has moved on to a job in Richmond in North Yorkshire after only six months as South-East Area Officer, but fortunately we have been able to replace her and Owen Shaw starts on 4 August 2008. See the interactive map and contact details to find out which Area Officer looks after your local paths.
Our campaign of inspecting the paths across the County which are subject to ploughing and cropping by farmers seems to have been a success, though we are still analysing the results. We did not have to take legal action against any farmers for ploughing and cropping offences this year.
This year’s series of path schemes as part of the second year of the Local Transport Plan 2 is now being developed. We have had lots of ideas submitted for potential schemes and these are being assessed and submitted to the Local Strategic Partnerships for approval. Work on the ground should commence soon.
The Necklace Park is currently experiencing a bit of a hiatus since Claire Lancaster left in February. Recruitment of a new Necklace Park team is about to take place, and in the meantime I am covering Necklace Park issues. The Sustrans Connect2 project funded proposal to open Belmont Viaduct as a walking, cycling and riding route between Newton Hall and Belmont is progressing, and one of the main tasks of the new Necklace Park Manager will be to find sources of match funding. For more details on Connect2 visit www.sustransconnect2.org.uk , and to find out more about the Belmont Viaduct project contact me on 0191 383 4082, or by email PROW. One project that Claire did a lot of work on was to secure funding for improvements and enhancements to the path from Palace Green to the Fulling Mill in Durham City. Thanks to support from County Durham Environmental Trust Ltd (CDENT), Durham Cathedral, Durham University, City of Durham and others a scheme to reopen this path with new steps and handrails should begin later this summer.
The Mineral Valleys Project has now come to an end and after five years of hard work a set of 10 circular and linear walks have been completed. Most of the leaflets are now available, both as pdfs on the Countryside Publications web page, at Tourist Information Centres area, or from Elaine on 0191 383 3355. All ten will be available as a pack soon. To celebrate all these routes, the improvements to the Weardale Way and the other routes improved as part of the Mineral Valleys Project, a highly-successful Walks Festival was organised for the week from Sunday 25 May 2008 to Saturday 31 May 2008. Thirteen guided walks from 3 to 10 miles in length took place, in a variety of weathers, attended by a total of more than 260 people. It was a fitting and excellent way of marking the culmination of a lot of effort by communities up and down the valley of the River Wear.
A lot of work has been going in to the preparations for the new Unitary Authority which starts on 1 April 2009. There are extensive public consultations on how the new Authority will deliver all council services to the people of County Durham, and we wait to see where our work will fit into the new structures. In the meantime we continue to work on the implementation of our Rights of Way Improvement Plan, by setting an annual action plan with key targets. A lot of progress is already being made, and I hope to be able to announce some exciting new initiatives soon.
Friday 25th July 2008 saw the Access and Rights of Way team, together with various volunteers and helpers, running our annual Pirate Treasure Trail event. About 600 people turned up on the day, which offered a healthy outdoor exercise and fun for children at the start of the school holidays. It was very successful, if hot and tiring, and hopefully a few more people realised just what the great outdoors can offer. Whether we do it all again next year has still to be decided!
Please contact us if you have any questions or comments about any of the work we do. If you want to get involved there are several ways to do so. You could join the Durham Voluntary Countryside Ranger Service or you could apply to join the County Durham Local Access Forum. We have recently appointed five new members for the Forum, and hope to appoint more shortly. If you are interested, please contact me for further details".
Mike Ogden
August 2008
What We Do and How We Work?
Durham County Council is responsible for administering the 3474 Km (2158 miles) long path network of footpaths, bridleways and byways open to all traffic in the County. The authority’s duties with respect to Public Rights of Way can be categorised into two main areas, practical management and legal management of the network.What do You Wish to Know?
Select from the following links.- About Public Rights of Way
- The Definitive Map
- Public Rights of Way Registers including:
- Section 53B Register of 53(5) Definitive Map Modification Orders
- Section 31A Register of 31(6) (Deposits) of the Highways Act 1980
- Reporting Problems on Public Rights of Way
- Rights and Responsibilities on Public Rights of Way
- County Durham Local Access Forum
- Open Access in County Durham
- Rights of Way BVPI (178)
- Rights of Way Improvement Plan
- Where to go - what to do
- Who to contact
- Frequently asked questions
- External Links
- Guidance on stiles and gates
- Parish Paths Partnership (P3)
Practical Management
- Assert and protect the rights of the public to use all Public Rights of Way
- Ensure that Public Rights of Way are not obstructed for example by overgrowing vegetation or other barriers
- Maintain surfaces to a standard appropriate to the use they receive
- Provide and maintain bridges carrying Public Rights of Way, although other parties often have an interest in these and some bridges may be privately maintained.
- Signpost all Public Rights of Way where they leave metalled roads (unless it is agreed with the parish council that this is not necessary).
- In co-operation with the landowner, waymarks routes where the line may be difficult to follow
- Offer grants to landowners or occupiers for approved maintenance of stiles and gates across Public Rights of Way. It is currently the County Council’s policy to offer 25% grants for stiles and gates on footpaths and for bridleways, though higher rates are offered on promoted routes
Legal Management
- Carry out legal changes to the network by statutory order i.e. creations, diversions and closures (temporary & permanent)
- Errors or omissions to the network (Recorded on the Definitive Map) can be corrected by modification orders subject to there being sufficient evidence to support the change.
Unlike some authorities, available resources mean that our 7 area officers deal with all aspects of the Practical and Legal demands of the Public Rights of Way network, ensuring that anyone day is never the same. Work is varied and often demanding, much of the practical works are achieved by working in partnership with and relying upon support from our Ranger Service, Volunteers and various Parish Groups.
