Footpath Secretary

Report from the footpath secretary for the year ending December 2023

The Ramblers Association’s primary aim is to protect the right to walk and the freedom to roam, whilst also ensuring that our footpaths are open, accessible and well-maintained.

This year has been a very busy one for the footpath team, which has consisted of myself and John Smith.

Rights of Way

We have had a number of issues to deal with:

• Public Footpath FP14: This path, which runs from the village hall to the church, was found to be seriously overgrown. It was impossible to get through for about two months over the summer. I contacted the local authority and they sent someone out to cut back the vegetation. They have promised to monitor the situation.
• Public Footpath FP27: A stile on this path, which crosses Farmer Giles’s land, was found to be broken. Farmer Giles has been notified and has agreed to repair it.
• Public Bridleway BW9: There have been reports of illegal off-road motorcycling on this path. We have reported this to the local police and the county council. They are looking into it.

New Paths

We have been investigating the possibility of adding a new path to the network. It would run from the village to the old railway line. We have had an initial meeting with the landowner and they are open to the idea. This is a long process and we will keep you updated.

Work Parties

We held two work parties this year.

• April: We cleared overgrown vegetation from FP15. We had 10 volunteers.
• September: We cleared rubbish from the area around the river. We had 8 volunteers.

Thank you to everyone who has helped with these tasks.

Training

I attended a training day run by the Ramblers Association on footpath maintenance. This was very useful and I learned a lot about the legal aspects of footpath protection and practical ways to deal with issues.

Conclusion

It has been a challenging year, but we have made good progress in protecting and improving our local footpath network. We will continue to work hard to ensure that our paths are kept open and accessible for everyone to enjoy.

If you find any issues on footpaths, please report them to me by email at [email protected] or by phone on 01234 567890.

Thank you for your continued support.

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Image of a footpath signpost