Northumberland County Council has “failed to learn the lesson of foot and mouth”
[01 February 2005]
The Ramblers’ Association (RA) today warned that rural
tourism in Northumberland was under threat because
Northumberland County Council (NCC) has failed to learn the
lessons of the foot and mouth epidemic, and was, in the face of
all evidence that good footpaths promote rural communities,
preparing to cut investment in its rights of way by a massive
27%.
Northumberland was one of the counties worst effected by the
devastation of the foot and mouth epidemic, and one of the key
lesson learned from the blanket closure of footpaths during that
period was that walking as an economic activity contributed
massively to the many hundreds of small businesses that relied
on walkers using the county’s footpaths.
A recent independent report, commissioned by the RA, by Dr. Mike
Christie and Jon Matthews of the University of Wales
Aberystwyth, shows that in Northumbria walkers contribute £350
million to the economy, supporting upwards of 10,000 jobs.
Yet over a third of all Northumberland’s footpaths are classed
as difficult or impossible to use by the Audit Commission, below
the national average. Instead of trying to improve this woeful
situation NCC have decided to slash their budget, which
currently only stands at £590,000, a tiny fraction of the amount
of money walkers contribute to the county’s economy.
The proposed cuts come at a time when walking and the ability to
go for a walk is becoming ever more important for public health.
Research shows that walking is one of the easiest and best forms
of exercise for people to take, and, in an age when health
related illnesses through increasingly sedentary lifestyles are
exploding, threatening to cut back on investing in the footpath
network seems like taking a step back into the Dark Ages.
Terry Pollard of the Northumbria Area of the Ramblers’
Association, said, “There is strong evidence that when walkers
encounter bad footpaths they choose not to return to the place
where their walk was ruined. NCC’s ‘slash and burn’ approach to
the rights of way budget is guaranteed to ensure walkers, and
the money they bring, don’t return to the county.”
“This seems crazy when Northumberland has so much beautiful
countryside and coast line to offer walkers – both local people
and tourists. If this budget cut goes through we can expect the
neglect of the footpath network to get even worse.”