Rights of Way Improvement Plan
The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (Section 60)
introduced a new duty for highway authorities to prepare and
publish a Rights of Way Improvement Plan (RoWIP).
The Rights of Way Improvement Plan sets out
the Council’s statutory duties but also provides objectives and
proposals to further improve the management, provision and
promotion of a wider rights of way and access network which meets
the needs of the public.
The Northumberland RoWIP covers the whole
of the county including the Northumberland National Park.
Northumberland’s Rights of Way Improvement
Plan considers:
- 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 for exercise and other forms of open-air recreation and the
enjoyment of the council's area together with the use of the
network by local people as a means to access workplaces, schools
and other local facilities.
- The accessibility of local rights of way to
blind or partially sighted persons and others with mobility
problems.
The Consultation Process
An extensive public consultation took
place to find out what people wanted to see in the plan.
Here is the process we followed:
- Workshops were held with user groups,
landowner representatives and the Local Access Forum.
- Key Issues Questionnaires were sent to county
stakeholders, District & Parish Councils.
- A use and demand survey of residents, day
visitors and tourists was undertaken. This included a survey
of groups and organisations representing the needs of people with a
disability.
- A pre-draft consultation document was
commented on by the Local Access Forum.
- A final draft consultation document was sent
out to over 800 organisations and individuals.
The results from the Consultation Process have
been analysed and the Report of Consultation can be downloaded from
this page. The report sets out the consultation responses
received and identifies how the Council will amend the Plan in the
light of these consultation responses.
The Northumberland National Park and County
Joint Local Access Forum, has played an important role in the whole
process due to its role as statutory advisor to the highway
authority on strategic access and open air recreation. Click
here to go to the Local Access Forum page.
The Final Rights of Way
Improvement Plan
The Plan was published in November 2007
and a PDF version of the Plan can be downloaded.
