What’s happening and why, and what we’re asking of local councils

With less funding and more demand for care services in particular, the county council no longer have the money to do everything it used to, or maybe would like to do. The council have to balance the need to spend more on supporting vulnerable people on the need to maintain and improve highways and rights of way.

With reducing resources the county council must focus on its statutory duties and is no longer in a position to fund amenity maintenance works and extensive right of way maintenance that keep our localities looking good. It needs to focus more on its statutory responsibilities.

Many local councils already deliver these types of activities by keeping footpaths accessible and maintaining hedges and verge areas in their towns and parishes.  This is making a huge difference to people’s local environment and quality of life, but it is clear that local people and local councils need to take more action.

Working together we can still ensure that we can all take pride in the highways and rights of way in our communities – but this does mean that local people and local councils need to take more action to keep their local environment looking good and working well.

This website aims to provide local councils with information they might need to get local people more involved and actively take pride in their local environment.

What options do local councils have?

Local councils could consider doing more, with our help, to keep local environment looking good and working well.

You can:

  1. Read how other local councils are getting involved in taking on small highways and rights of way tasks 
  2. Consider what small highways and rights of way tasks local councils could get involved in and what’s involved
  3. Take part in the rights of way consultation to tell us which rights of way the county council should focus on,  which could be supported by the community, how parish councils could help to liaise with landowners and what the priorities should be for county council supported volunteer programmes.
  4. Talk to the county council to discuss a solution in your area, which may involve applying to the £30,000 fund Community Paths Initiative Fund.