“A complex and challenging area”: management of footpaths to be reviewed

The maintenance and management of public rights of way is set to discussed at an upcoming meeting in Trowbridge County Hall.

This comes after Wiltshire Council has received criticism for its backlog of over 360 applications to modify public right of way maps and the amount of byway obstructions in the county.

The environment select committee will review an update report on the topic on Tuesday, September 3.

With over 3,700 miles of public rights of way in Wiltshire, the report describes it as a “multifaceted asset that contributes to healthier, more connected, and environmentally conscious communities.”

It also notes that the investigation of issues on the network can be “extremely time consuming” when compared to those on the general highway network, because locations are often accessed by foot and over some distance.

The document states that the backlog of applications is a problem replicated in many other large shire counties or rural authorities, such as Somerset Council.

It reads: “This situation is not new and is the cumulative effect of failures to keep pace with the updating of the record since it was formed in 1952/1953.

“The backlog has been exacerbated by recent legislation closing the definitive map and statement to applications to add, upgrade or downgrade rights of way based on historical evidence at the end of 2030.

“There has been an upsurge in applications in recent years (over 100 received in just one year) as the result of national user based organisations, in the case of the British Horse Society supported by funding from Sport England, and many applications have been placed by professional researchers.”

It adds: “Not only is the procedure for determining these applications prescribed by law, it is lengthy and almost invariably requires recourse to the Planning Inspectorate (Secretary of State for Environment Food and Rural Affairs) for a decision.”

According to the report, Wiltshire Council has an “excellent record” of decision making in rights of way matters and the validity of its records have been upheld in several cases in both the high court and the court of appeal.

However, it describes the administration as “a complex and challenging area” with “significant resource demand”.

The document informs the committee that the topic is being reviewed to potentially speed up the process.

The committee will be asked to note the current progress and receive a further update next year.