Agenda item

As requested by the Environment Select Committee on 25 July 2023, the Committee are to receive a report regarding Rights of Way. To include issues of maintenance and access, updates to the definitive maps, and engagement with volunteer groups.

Councillor Nick Holder, Cabinet Member for Highways, Street Scene, and Flooding, updated the Committee on the maintenance and management of public Rights of Way alongside Chris Clark, Head of Local Highways and Countryside Access.

Councillor Holder introduced the report and invited questions from Members.

During the discussion, points included:

• The legal process pertaining to Definitive Map Modification Orders was explained, with officers highlighting that the backlog being experienced by the Council was a national issue and that many other Highway and Surveying Authorities were facing similar challenges. Members were reassured that officers were working with adjoining authorities in the Southwest Highways Alliance to consider best practice, lessons to be learned, and alternative processing methods.
• In response to Members highlighting the dependence of Local Highways and Footpath Improvement Groups (LHFIGs) being awarded grants through Area Boards, it was clarified that although there was a defined service budget, the level of resource this enabled was limited with only six Countryside Access Officers, thus leading to challenges in maintaining the vast network throughout Wiltshire particularly regarding boundaries between urban and semi-urban areas.
• The volunteer groups as referenced in Paragraphs 11, 12, and 14 of the report were raised, and Members queried how reliant the service was on these groups and sought further clarity on the insurance cover for volunteers when carrying out work on the network. Officers acknowledged and commended the vital work of volunteers within the service, but highlighted the risks associated with voluntary staff, especially health and safety concerns. As such, it was explained that officers were looking to engage with Parish and Town Councils due to their ability to exercise Rights of Way maintenance semi-independently to the Countryside Access Officers for activities such as erecting location signs, installing gates and styles, and light hedge trimming etc. By using the Parish and Town Councils as a model to deliver such services, it would also address any insurance concerns as it would be undertaken through the Parish/Town Councils’ own insurance policies. Officers noted that they were in the process of developing strategies to combat challenges arising from examples such as the use of specific equipment or vehicles provided by Countryside Access Officers and enforcement situations in order to best deliver the service via voluntary groups.
• Paragraphs 3 and 4 of the report’s Executive Summary were highlighted, and Members emphasised the importance of the impact that accessible Rights of Ways had on residents’ health and wellbeing, and queried if additional investment could be sought to support this. In response, officers noted that they were seeking to develop a hierarchical approach to network connectivity akin to frameworks used within the Highways Service which would then allow officers to prioritise funding into areas that would reap the most benefits.

At the conclusion of the discussion, it was:

Resolved:

The Committee:

a)    Noted the contents of the report and the progress that is being made in relation to the maintenance and management of public Rights of Way in Wiltshire.

b)    Requested a further update to the Committee on the maintenance and management of the public Rights of Way network before May 2025, including how the Council is learning from good practice at other Local Authorities, service budgets, work with volunteer groups, the enforcement activities of countryside officers, and the development of network use data.