We are building this page with the information you provide us. Please let us know if local authorities have given any indication of cuts to their rights of way budget or if you are aware of paths being neglected
1. Buckinghamshire County Council – may see on-the-ground footpath work reduced by about a quarter
2. North Yorkshire County Council –10,000 prioritised rights of way issues are currently outstanding, with no intention of increasing the budget
News Coverage in the area:
3. Cornwall Council –10 per cent budget cuts planned over the next four years, despite years of total neglect of half the paths under the Council’s notorious ‘bronze, silver, gold’ prioritisation system – for years rated worst in England by the Audit Commission
News Coverage in the area:
4. Worcestershire County Council – it’ll be 2049 before the backlog of 118 outstanding definitive map applications is cleared, at current rates
5. Doncaster Council – faces a £15K budget cut despite the council needing to find over £50k to replace a bridleway bridge destroyed by vandalism. Work deferred from the last financial year will add even more pressure to an already beleaguered budget
6. Wiltshire County Council – 100 bridges need replacing, and 184 definitive map changes and 33 path orders are outstanding
7. Bath and North East Somerset Council – staffing cuts have resulted in a 20% reduction of staff time
8. Surrey County Council – 20% cuts to the rights of way maintenance budget loom over the next 4 years
News Coverage in the area:
9. Warwickshire County Council – it’ll be 2027 before the backlog of 160 outstanding definitive map applications is cleared, at current rates
10. Cambridgeshire County Council – rights of way budgets cut by £20K this year,targeted at staff training, Local Access Forum and definitive map advertising
11. Sutton London Borough Council – the Public Rights of Way Improvement Plan is not completed, and there is a shortage of paths maintenance funding. Despite this, there is no separate rights of way budget
12. Herefordshire Council – it’ll be 2020 before the backlog of 82 outstanding definitive map applications is cleared, at current rates
13. Dorset County Council – have still not signed off their Rights of Way Improvement Plan, yet an impending staffing review could result in a decrease of rights of way work
News Coverage in the area:
14. Suffolk County Council – backlog of 150 outstanding definitive map claims will take ‘years’ to clear at current rates; despite this a ‘tougher budget than previous years’ is warned for 2011/12
15. Gloucestershire County Council – have cut over 50% of Highway Authority staff over the last year (from 8 to less than 4 full time); meanwhile the backlog of definitive map applications now stands at 130
News Coverage in the area:
16. Somerset County Council – backlog of 250 outstanding definitive map
applications, with a 6 year wait for new claims
17. Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council – cannot /will not find the money to replace a foot-bridge across the river Dearne
18. North Somerset Council – limited funding over many years has resulted in there being a large number of outstanding problems. Issues are therefore dealt with according to their seriousness with health and safety being the top priority
19. Isle of Wight Council – no money will be made available for rights of way repairs from funding secured for roads repairs
Other useful articles:
N.B.County councils and unitary authorities must keep an updated ‘definitive
map’ of rights of way, the conclusive record of public paths. If a path you believe is public is not shown, you can apply (with appropriate evidence) to the council for it to be added; if the landowner disputes its existence, a hearing decides the issue. So the system is a relatively inexpensive tribunal of the public’s rights. But certain paths, if they are not recorded by 2026, will be automatically extinguished then, so many paths could be lost forever if more applications are not processed sooner
Return to Dead End campaign main page
