Don't forget - the deadline to respond to the RoW survey is 12 February!
The Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (ADEPT), is asking local authorities across England to complete a new online survey to understand the ongoing pressures on public rights of way in their areas.
ADEPT is again working in partnership with the Institute of Public Rights of Way and Access Management (IPROW).
The short survey asks for information on impacts of levels of usage compared with 2019, budget and resource challenges, map work and seeks officers’ views on current and future pressures on service delivery.
COVID-19, national lockdowns and the restrictions of the tiers system have all seen ever greater numbers use public rights of way for exercise and active travel. Although this increase is welcome in terms of mental health and wellbeing, it has meant an increased workload for teams as they manage already tightened budgets.
Once again, the information collected will be used to inform both organisations’ work with Defra, Natural England and the Local Government Association and will be used to highlight budget and resource pressures faced by the estimated 140,000 miles of public rights of way networks across the country.
Local authorities are receiving emails providing details of how to access the survey and the information to be captured. Once analysed, the results will be available on the ADEPT website.
The latest government advice on public rights of way is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/operational-update-covid-19.