As the county council’s income reduces but demand for services such as adult social care continues to increase, it needs to find savings and new ways of working in everything it does. The rights of way network is one of those areas where the council will have less money to spend, so it needs a different approach to maintain these important community assets from April 2018.

The council manages a 4,500km network of footpaths and bridleways and receives thousands  of calls for help and information a year, so it needs a system to ensure that the available budget delivers the greatest possible benefits.

By exercising their discretionary powers, some local councils have already improved signage and installed new bridges and interpretation boards, adding to what the county council can provide. This is making a huge difference to people’s local environment and quality of life.

Staffordshire County Council are proposing new standards for how  rights of way are maintained that focuses money and activity on the most valuable footpaths and bridleways which are important to the economy and for promoting tourism.

Local councils are an essential part of shaping these proposals. You have the passion for these rights of way, and are in the best position to help the council keep them open and accessible.

The county council are asking local councils for their opinions on:

• which rights of way the county council should focus most resources on
• which rights of way the community could get more involved in
• what county council supported volunteer programmes should focus on
• if local councils will take on some of the liaison with landowners about their statutory responsibility to maintain rights of way on their land.

The county council has put this consultation information onto this website so that local councils can be more informed when responding to the consultation and deciding which highways and rights of way tasks could be managed in the future.

The proposals suggest an alternative way of looking after the rights of way network in Staffordshire, including:

• a hierarchy system which sets the standard for the activities and county council responses to reports on all rights of way. Each route is categorised as  either A, B or C depending on what the county council’s initial research has indicated.  Proactive maintenance will be primarily focused on A paths and issues will be addressed on these paths ahead of those categorised as B or C.Your views and local insight is needed to create the final categorisation.
• a new web-based system to keep people better informed of progress if they have reported an issue or asked for help regarding a right of way.
• enhancing the council’s volunteer programme to encourage more members of the community to help maintain local routes.  Staffordshire County Council wants to know what people’s priorities for these volunteer programmes are.
• local councils taking on some of the liaison with landowners about their statutory responsibilities (because the vast majority of calls received by the county council are about problems on private land which are the statutory responsibility of the landowner), allowing the small, in-house team  to concentrate on its statutory responsibilities.
  How each right of way was categorised – the method (PDF)

The proposals mean that:

• local councils and stakeholders can shape what priorities for maintenance and volunteering are
• the county council will be able to focus on ensuring that taxpayers’ money is spent in the best way possible
• people will be better informed of progress if they have made a request for help or information
• all stakeholders and partners will understand what is possible and feel empowered to take control of minor problems if the county council cannot respond quickly
• more local people can get involved and take pride in where they live

Over time it is hoped that more communities would get involved in helping to keep all rights of way open, accessible and well maintained.  In the short term people may see less maintenance on the low category routes.

Interactive map – how each right of way has been provisionally categorised – search in your area

Following a research exercise, each right of way has been provisionally categorised as an A, B or C route, depending on:

• the likely demand on that route -based on the size and location of the population, and its scenic amenity)
• its wider benefits -based on if it is a promoted route and/or is valuable to the visitor economy, the range of different users ( e.g. cyclists, walkers, horse-riders, etc) and  whether it has links to country parks, shops, schools, etc.

Rights of Way catgorisation-methodology (Word document)

What A, B and C paths would look like (PDF)
What A, B and C paths would look like (Word)

This means that proactive maintenance will be primarily focused on A routes, and issues will be addressed on these ahead of those categorised as B or C. The categorisation of the path will also affect how quickly issues are resolved, with an issue on A route being managed quicker than the same issue on a B or C path.

What A, B and C paths would look like (PDF)
What A, B and C paths would look like (Word)

This does not mean that those proposed to be category C will not receive county council support.

Those proposed to be in the C category are those that are most likely to be infrequently used and are deemed not to offer as much benefit to the public as those in the A and B categories. We would still carry out our statutory responsibilities to maintain access and the surface of all rights of way, but would only be able to respond to non-emergency issues on C routes when limited resources allow.

However the provisional categorisation of each right of way is just a starting point. The consultation is asking for more local insight to inform the final decision.  You can submit local insight or evidence to rightsofwayreview@staffordshire.gov.uk

1.  How Staffordshire County Council provisionally categorised each right of way Following evaluation and research, each right of way was given three scores – one representing the likely demand on that path, one representing the benefit of each right of way and one representing the potential for being used by a range of different people. The scores were then added together and placed in the A, B or C category.
   The consultation invites people to put forward any evidence or local knowledge they have about a right of way so that it can be correctly categorised.
2. The small rights of way team receives thousands of reports about issues on rights of way every year – The majority are problems on rights of way on private land, which are the responsibility of the landowner.  The majority of landowners are happy to carry out their responsibilities when they know about their obligations – many are not aware.
3. Organisations can apply to  the £30,000 Community Paths Initiative Fund   – a small grants scheme to fund projects that improve or promote countryside access and rights of way.
4. The county council can pay up to 25% of the cost of replacing stiles and gates on any right of way – by providing stile kits at a subsidised rate.
5. A path categorised as C will still receive some county council support  – Officers would still respond to an emergency but because they are infrequently used, the county council would only respond to non-emergency issues when its limited resources allow. They would not be able to guarantee when they would begin investigating a problem, and, if necessary, taking action to resolve issues. The council feels that this is a reasonable approach to meeting its statutory duties.
6. Whilst members of the public can take part in the consultation, it is purposely targeted at parish councils, user groups, partners and stakeholders  – the people who have a real passion for these rights of way – to see how they can help and provide help give a ‘community wide’ response to the consultation.
7. The consultation will last for 10 weeks  – a decision will be made early in 2018.  Changes will be implemented for the start of the new financial year in April 2018.
8. The categorisation of each right of way is provisional at this stage  – The results of the consultation will help to inform the final categorisation.

Staffordshire County Council have put the information on this website so that you can easily make an informed response to the consultation.  You may want to explore the rest of the website to understand what rights of way and small highways amenities tasks local councils can carry out before responding.  This is particularly important when responding to questions about which paths should be categorised as C, and about how involved local councils can be with volunteering and liaising with landowners.

Taking part in the consultation is easy.  Please:

1. look at how each right of way has been provisionally categorised through this interactive map. You can put your parish or a local postcode into the search field to zoom in on your area.
2. read about what’s involved in liaising with landowners before responding – Liaising with landowners – a helpful guide
3. to help the county council to limit costs, please fill in the online questionnaire here by the deadline on 25th December
4. You can also send an email to rightsofwayreview@staffordshire.gov.uk