Agenda item

To approve the Rights of Way Improvement Plan for adoption by the Council Cabinet.

(i)      To accept the report and approve that the Environment Department prepare a final version of the Rights of Way Improvement Plan and to incorporate the recommendations of the Scrutiny Committee in relation to including further information in terms of volunteers and access for all matters.

(ii)     Recommend that the Cabinet adopt the Rights of Way Improvement Plan.

The report was submitted by the Cabinet Member for Environment, the Countryside Manager and the Assistant Head of Environment.  Attention was drawn briefly to the following principal points: 

-      The Cabinet Member for the Environment explained that the draft plan had appeared before this Committee prior to consultation and had been developed following the consultation undertaken over the summer.  The consultation included 7 questions based on the action points

-      A total of 294 responses were received to the questionnaire, with the majority indicating a general satisfaction with the rights of way improvement plan 

Members were given an opportunity to ask questions and offer observations. During the discussion, the following matters were raised:

It was asked whether the department had considered seeking volunteers to assist them to improve rights of way?  It was believed that people were eager to volunteer as this brought communities together. This would also be a good way of collaborating with town and community councils. 

-      In response to the query, the Countryside Manager noted that it was a challenge for officers to coordinate volunteers. Responding to an interest could be challenging at times as resources were not available to continuously support volunteers.  It was also important to remember that health and safety issues needed to be considered with some aspects of volunteering.  However, it was recognised that not enough advantage was taken of volunteering and included in the plan and there was room for improvement here.

-      The Countryside Manager proceeded to confirm that there was a strong relationship with community and town councils especially with funding and grants issues.  On-going work was undertaken to collaborate with town councils and public bodies. 

It was noted that volunteers needed health and safety training and they could then undertake the work of inspecting footpaths.  Praise was given to the work of the service considering the cuts to the budget.

It was asked how the plan would allow horses to travel safely along the paths bearing in mind obstructions such as gates and the proximity to road traffic. 

-      In response to the query, the Countryside Manager confirmed that regular applications were received from a horse society for permission to use more of the paths.  Some paths were already suitable such as Lôn Las Ogwen. This path was wide and flat and suitable for horses and bicycles.

-      The Countryside Manager proceeded to say that there was inconsistency in the types of paths that are part of the network and therefore horses and bicycles could not travel on every one. Work was being done to ensure that there was consistency across all the Lonydd Glas network and to get a safety assessment so that every user was safe when using the paths.

It was asked if work was being undertaken to make the paths more accessible to people with mobility difficulties or for people with vision impairment.  It was assumed that some people had difficulties using the paths due to the distance between signs, especially if their vision was poor.

-      In response to the query, the Countryside Manager noted that he was aware of these difficulties.  The department had been working for some years to reduce the number of obstacles on the paths – such as replacing a stile with a gate, and if possible completely removing the gate to leave a gateway without any obstruction.

-      It was expanded that this work was regularly reviewed. The department is continuing to learn as people use the paths and an equality impact assessment would be prepared for the plan.

It was asked whether it was possible to receive a report from the department regarding the condition of the footpaths network.

-      In response to the query, the Countryside Manager confirmed that a sample of the condition of paths in 6 communities were available.  These samples indicated the inconsistencies in the network. This could be for several reasons such as the landscape. There was a new system of managing and responding to complaints by now. In looking at the complaints, the types of enquiries received may be explored to make a further assessment of the condition of the paths.

Thanks were expressed for the report.

RESOLVED

(i)      To accept the report and approve that the Environment Department prepare a final version of the Rights of Way Improvement Plan and to incorporate the recommendations of the Scrutiny Committee in relation to including further information regarding volunteers and access for all matters.

(ii)    Recommend that the Cabinet adopt the Rights of Way Improvement Plan.