Maintenance of public rights of way.
Introduction.
Responsibility for keeping open public rights of way that are maintainable at public expense is divided between highways authorities and the occupiers of land. Some national park authorities, district councils and parish or town councils act as agents to carry out work on behalf of the highway authority for their area.
Highway authority responsibilities.
Highway authorities have the duties set out below to maintain public rights of way, and where necessary, will act in default where the responsibilities of others such as landowners, have not been carried out.
Surface and vegetation.
Maintain the surface of public rights of way and control vegetation (other than crops) on the surface of paths.
Respond to notices served by members of the public under the Highways Act 1980 (section 56) and to any subsequent order from the magistrates court, about surface maintenance.
Rights of way infrastructure-gates, stiles, bridges etc.
Authorise new gates or stiles (i.e. where there was no gate/stile before) and provide a 25% contribution towards any costs incurred by a landowner in maintaining stiles and gates on public rights of way, when requested to do so by the landowner.
Maintain bridges over natural watercourse including farm ditches, which were there when the path was first recorded.
Signposting and waymarking.
Provide signposts where public rights of way leave metalled roads. Highway authorities may also waymark public rights of way, after consulting the landowner.
Obstructions and misleading notices.
Secure the removal of obstructions, and respond to notices about obstructions served by members of the public under the Highways Act 1980.
Ensure that there are no intimidating or misleading notices deterring the public from using paths shown on the definitive map, and prosecute anyone who displays such notices.
Meeting the requirements of the disability discrimination Act 1995 (DDA)
Consider the requirements of the DDA in a local context to ensure the service they provide is “reasonable” in meeting the needs of disabled people.
Parish and Town Council responsibilities
Parish and town councils also have certain discretionary powers in their own right, these include:
Maintaining any public footpath or bridleway in the community;
Requiring the highway authority to remove an obstruction;
Putting up signposts and waymarks (with the consent of the local highway authority and after consulting with the landowner);
Requiring the local authority to carry out its duty to signpost and waymark public rights of way.
This text has been reproduced with kind permission of the Countryside Agency.