“Natural places are visited for a diversity of reasons and provide many benefits to those who visit.”
Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment (MENE)
Headline Report 2019 (Natural England, September 2019)
Communities
Off-road access tends to be reliant on historic routes and often does not provide for today’s needs or standards. Securing new routes, changing the status of a path such as to allow cycling, or improving an existing route, will offer residents more attractive, safer, and convenient means to enjoy their local environment.
Many local communities wish to improve local off-road access, whether for access to and from local services such as shops, community facilities and schools; or for outdoor recreation and well-being. Many Parish Councils are keenly interested in Public Rights of Way and have a ‘Footpaths Officer’ and use their precept funding to deliver improvements for residents. Other community groups, such as Community Partnerships and residents’ groups, actively lead projects.
An increasing number of Parish Councils are taking the opportunity afforded by Neighbourhood Plans to shape their future. These Plans, whilst primarily to guide local development, are being widely used to enhance off-road access. Some have broad ambitions, such as in the Herstmonceux Neighbourhood Plan:
“The Council also supports the creation of new Rights of Way that links the settlements to the surrounding countryside” (Policy 9, p59).
Others, such as the Slaugham Neighbourhood Plan, take an alternative strategy, not just supporting specific new bridleways to link specific parts of the village (Aim 5, p28) but also to financially support schemes using their Community Infrastructure Levy funds (Aim 3, p18).
Jon Perks Associates can offer knowledge and experience of delivering local access improvements, and can help you to:
assess your local rights of way and access network
propose strategies to improve your local off-road access network including being properly recorded, protected and promoted
engage with your local community to identify local access needs
negotiate public path creation agreements with land managers to enhance local networks
undertake condition surveys, also use and demand surveys, and recommend enhancements to improve routes
design schemes to deliver easy-to-use access for residents and visitors
secure funding to finance project delivery.
"Being a knowledgeable former WSCC ROW Officer and having also served as a Parish Councillor who sat on the Planning Committee and steered the Parish’s Neighbourhood Plan to completion, Jon understands the role of Parish Councils in relation to principal councils. He also led on taking forward several ROW improvements in the Parish. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Jon to any Parish looking for advice on or bringing about improvements to their local ROW."
GREG BURT | Clerk, Billingshurst Parish Council
