DERBY AND DERBYSHIRE LOCAL ACCESS FORUM

Rights of Way Improvement Plans (ROWIPs) Derbyshire: The County Council has issued its draft ROWIP for formal consultation and the LAF and RA Area submitted comments on it to the Council. The LAF was critical of the lack of ambition in some of the ROWIP's actions and in the absence of targets for many of them. It is not yet evident that the Council will allocate sufficient funding for many of the ROWIP's actions. By the end of the summer the Council will prepare a final version of their ROWIP and an associated work programme. Derby City: LAF members have commented on early drafts of the City Council's ROWIP. The formal consultation stage should start by the end of April (it starts on 9th May).

Expansion of the LAF's remit

Recent legislation has expanded the remit of LAFs to include advising town and parish councils (as well as county, unitary and district councils) on improvement of public access to land for any lawful purpose - previously the advice was limited to access for open-air recreation and enjoyment of that area. This means that the LAF can now advise on access to land (including rights of way) for utilitarian purposes such as getting to work, schools, shops and local amenities. The LAF set up a subgroup to consider the implications of these changes and also to improve the effectiveness of the LAF.

Off-roading motor vehicles

This continues to be a significant issue for the County Council which has allocated additional staff to this topic. The LAF was told about surveys of the routes used by off-roaders, reviews of National Park and County policies, meetings with highways officers to consider maintenance issues and use of Traffic Regulation Orders, work with the police on illegal use, and discussion of the issues at community forums.

Ease of use of rights of way

The LAF was told that surveys of rights of way in Derbyshire for 'ease of use' showed a pass rate for 2006/07 of 71.8% (2005/06: 67.7%), beating the Council's target of 70%. The result from the May 2006 surveys was 65.6% whereas from the November 2006 surveys it was 77.9%, a difference which I find surprising but the weather may have had some impact. [Geof Cole has shown that in Derbyshire Dales District, there is a marked difference between results for rights of way in the National Park - 80% pass - and those outside the Park - 66% pass - in the November surveys.] The Council claimed improved results for roadside signposts, ploughing and cropping, and other obstructions, with slight reductions in performance for path furniture and surface condition. Improvement of survey results remains a high priority for the Council.

Martin Pape