Give feedback on this pageRights of Way Improvement Plan
Every highway authority in England & Wales is required to prepare and publish a Rights of Way Improvement Plan (RoWIP) for its area. The RoWIP will eventually be incorporated into the Regional Transport Plan (RTP) for North Wales to ensure that the contribution made by the Public Rights of Way network to transport, health, recreation and the economy are fully recognised and considered alongside other initiatives, and to ensure a consistent strategy and reporting procedure.
What is the RoWIP?
The Government’s guidance to highway authorities on RoWIPs requires that Councils must make an assessment of:
• The extent to which local rights of way meet the present and future needs of the public;
• The opportunities provided by local rights of way (and in particular footpaths, cycle tracks, bridleways and byways) for exercise and other forms of open-air recreation and the enjoyment of the local authority's area;
• The accessibility of local rights of way to blind or partially sighted persons and others with mobility problems;
• Such other matters relating to local rights of way as the Secretary of State may direct.
A Statement Of Action will be included in the Plan, which will set out how the authorities intend to manage and improve local rights of way.
The Denbighshire Local Access Forum are set up by statute and advise the authority on matters relating to Access to the Countryside and have been consulted during the preparation of the Denbighshire RoWIP, and they will act as a key consultant for the draft RoWIP.
Rights of Way Improvement Plan and Statement of Action
The Council’s Rights of Way Unit and Countryside Management Service has consulted widely amongst interested parties to gain a wider view as to whether the service is meeting the needs and expectations of the public.. We are keen to see if we are doing as much as we can to meet any need we currently have not identified (Although it may be impossible to substantially alter the way we operate because of limitations established by statute). Following this we asked the public if they felt our conclusions about the service we provide was correct and substantially they agreed. From this we have now prepared a draft Rights of Way Improvement Plan and Statement of Action, to set out how the authority intends to manage access to the countryside over the next 10 years and the priorities we feel we need to make in order to deliver the best possible service. As with all long term strategies we have had to ensure we retain some flexibility to deal with changes that arise in the future (from changes in statute or national priorities).
The Draft plan is now available. The Final Plan was approved on 30th September and will be published here as soon as possible.
Assessment Report
Our consultation began in late 2006 when we examined the current network provision to establish any gaps in the Public Rights of Way network, the extent of the provision of routes for users with mobility problems and so on. We contacted every resident of the county with a questionnaire in the authority's 'County Voice' Newspaper asking key questions about their own ways of accessing the countryside. We have also talked to businesses, local councilors, land managers, organisations and users with a countryside access remit, and also to landowners and elected members to engage these groups further in the RoWIP process. Thank you to everyone who completed and returned one of our Surveys – the data analysis has now been collated and the subsequent assessment report has been produced and is available to any person wishing to find out more about the assessment. All the data tables and final report of the assessment are available for reference below. You will find this document helpful when considering the above mentioned draft Rights of Way Improvement Plan
(pdf, 28.54 KB) Denbighshire RoWIP Assessment
(pdf, 1,592.23 KB) Rights of Way Improvement Plan and Statement of Action
(pdf, 877.27 KB)