Rights of way maintenance

About this service

We must ensure that over 6,100 kilometres of footpaths, bridleways and byways are maintained in a safe and suitable condition for public use. We provide signposts and waymarks and maintain the majority of bridges, and are responsible for maintaining path surfaces. Landowners must provide and maintain gates and stiles and keep paths free from obstructions.

Wiltshire is extremely fortunate to have an extensive network of footpaths, bridleways and byways that allow the majority of the county to be easily explored. Four area-based Rights of Way Wardens, managed from County Hall in Trowbridge, carry out the Council’s maintenance duties for over 6,100 kilometres of public rights of way. The Wardens are based at Chippenham in North Wiltshire, Melksham in West Wiltshire, Marlborough in the East Wiltshire and Wilton in the South Wiltshire. They are assisted by two Rights of Way Inspectors, who survey the paths on a parish by parish basis to establish what work needs to be done, and who also regularly inspect promoted and strategic routes as well as the most frequently used local paths so that any urgent problems can be dealt with quickly.

The Wardens and Inspectors plan and implement annual maintenance programmes, investigate any reported problems on the path network and work in partnership with landowners and occupiers, parish and town councils and path users to resolve them. Parish and Town Councils are encouraged to appoint Parish Wardens to assist with minor maintenance issues and other path problems at a local level. Physical works are undertaken by either contractors or volunteer groups.

The size of the network and the reality of limited resources being available does, however, make it unavoidable that the Council must prioritise the way in which it tackles its maintenance duties. Promoted, strategic and locally important paths are inspected annually, so that any urgent problems can be indentified and the necessary rectification work carried out quickly. Running alongside this is an ongoing programme of rotational parish inspections and maintenance of rights of way is now carried out based upon levels of known and expected use of individual paths and longer strategic routes and takes into account the nature of the surrounding landscape, public expectation and the severity of any problems that exist.

The duty to maintain rights of way is contained in the Highways Act 1980 and is shared between the Council in its role as Highway Authority and the owners and/or occupiers of the land over which the paths exist.

In broad terms, the Council must provide and maintain signposts and waymarks, maintain path surfaces in a safe and suitable condition for their expected use and provide and maintain the majority of bridges.

Landowners are required to provide and maintain stiles and gates where necessary and to keep paths free from obstruction by overhanging vegetation and where the land is used for growing crops, to reinstate paths after ploughing and to keep them free from growing or overhanging crops. Where they fail to do so, the County Council has a statutory duty of enforcement to ensure that, as far as possible, paths are kept free from obstructions.

The Council has developed separate policies for maintenance work and for enforcement. It is, however, important to recognise that in many cases a problem that may be seen as one of maintenance may in practice be an enforcement issue. The information contained on this website about these two areas of work should be read together, as they are so closely linked.

The County Council’s policies for maintaining the rights of way network are as follows:-

Maintenance policies

Statement of Intent

The Council will develop annual programmes for its maintenance work, in accordance with the route hierarchy system.

Maintenance programme

The Council will inspect and maintain as necessary all public rights of way within the County. Priority will be afforded to promoted and strategic routes and to well-used and therefore locally important paths, where maintenance will be proactive. Whole parish surveys and reactive maintenance will be carried out on a rotational programme in each of the Warden’s areas, with the aim of re-visiting each parish at least once every five years.

Reported path defects

Path defects include both maintenance and enforcement problems. Defects reported to the Council by members of the public will be assigned one of three priorities for inspection in descending order according to whether they represent an real and immediate danger to users, an obstruction that prevents or seriously inhibits use of the path, or are not so severe that they need attention ahead of the parish programme reaching that area or an earlier opportunity arises to rectify the problem.

The Council will work with local communities, rights of way users and landowners and occupiers in order to ensure that this approach is successful. Appropriate maintenance standards will be identified according to the grouping of path, type of use, level of strategic importance within the regional and local network of rights of way and the character of the surrounding area.

Signposting and waymarking

The Council will ensure that, as far as is possible, all public rights of way are signed in accordance with their correct legal status, where they leave metalled roads. Installation of new or replacement Rights of Way signposts will normally be by provision of a standard type post with directional arrow indicating the status of the right of way. However, where the right of way forms part of a promoted route (e.g. National Trails, Regional routes, other long-distance paths or local circular walks) or lies within an area where there are special features (eg. the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Sites) the Council will consider more detailed signage and waymarking, such as named routes, specific destinations, distances, etc. and will seek to meet the extra costs involved either from internal or external funding sources.

The Council will aim to provide adequate waymarking or other signage as appropriate wherever there might otherwise be difficulty in identifying the route of a path, working wherever possible with landowners and occupiers, town and parish council and volunteer assistance. This will include the provision of materials.

Maintenance of stiles and gates

The provision and maintenance of gates and stiles is the responsibility of the owner of the land, although the Council is often able to offer some assistance, e.g. the provision of gates and stiles. When considering the replacement or installation of new gates and stiles, the Council will adopt the approach of the least restrictive option, i.e., gap, gate, stile according to the expected level and type of use likely to be made of the path. Where the Council agrees with a private landowner or occupier that a less restrictive option is required than the basic minimum requirement it will seek to meet any extra costs involved (e.g. where a kissing-gate is installed to replace a stile) either from internal or external funding sources.

Maintenance of path surfaces

The Council will adopt a local management strategy to deal with problems of damaged path surfaces whereby surface drainage improvements will be implemented in the first instance, in association with voluntary restraint or temporary closure orders as required.

Where there has been significant damage to the surface of byways, the Council will at the earliest opportunity seek to repair the damage to a standard capable of absorbing the expected level and type of traffic, but will where necessary consider closure of the route by means of Traffic Regulation Orders to all or specifically identified users on a seasonal or all-year-round basis until effective repairs have been made.

Where there is no realistic prospect of being able to carry out repairs within the period allowed by temporary closure order, or where the nature of the damage or the route itself cannot be effectively repaired to lasting effect, the Council will consider the use of permanent Traffic Regulation Orders. In exceptional circumstances, such as the requirement to protect the special nature of National Trails, the Council will consider the use of Traffic Regulation Orders on a permanent basis.

Prior to the making of an order consultations will be carried out with the elected Council member for the area, the district and town or parish councils, representatives of the local user groups and the statutory undertakers. The Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport and Economic Development will be advised of the outcome of the consultations and will determine if an order is to be made. Where the Cabinet Member considers it to be appropriate, a voluntary public inquiry may be held so that the recommendation of an independent inspector can be obtained.

Financing of improvement schemes and minor works

Routine maintenance work will be funded by the rights of way maintenance budget. In addition, the Council will explore all means of financing improvement schemes and minor works (non-routine) on rights of way and will normally accord higher priority to those schemes where joint funding can be achieved. The Council will also contribute to the improvement and repair of private roads over which there are also rights of way, subject to agreement that the proposed work is necessary for the essential maintenance or improvement of the way for public use, in accordance with its public status and also subject to the availability of the required funds.

Historical and archaeological considerations

A number of rights of way have very early, possibly prehistoric, origins. In such cases, archaeological survey and potentially excavation may be a requirement. It may in certain cases be necessary to use a protective geotextile matting prior to laying any new surfacing materials. There may also be a need to consider minor path diversions in order to avoid conflicts between access and archaeology, and opportunities to undertake scrub clearance work to enhance the quality and visibility to the public of features of interest.

These considerations will also apply where new paths are proposed for creation, where in addition to protecting any archaeological features there may also be opportunities to provide more access to sites of importance and interest, together with on site information panels.

The Rights of Way Section will liaise with the County Archaeologist on these matters.

Ecological/biodiversity aspects

When physical maintenance, improvement works, RoW upgrade or new RoW are proposed, it is important to consider the ecological impact of such proposals, particularly within or adjacent to areas designated for their ecological importance:

International/European

Ramsar Sites, candidate Special Areas of Conservation (cSAC), Special Protection Areas (SPA).

National

Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), National Nature Reserves (NNR).

Local

County Wildlife Sites (CWS), Local Nature Reserves (LNR), other nature reserves.

In addition account should be taken of the impact of such proposals on legally protected species of animals and plants, Wiltshire Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) priority habitats and species, and nesting birds if works are undertaken during the breeding season.

Landscape aspects

When physical maintenance, improvement works, RoW upgrade or new RoW are proposed, it is important to consider the visual impact of such proposals on the wider landscape, particularly within the boundary of, or within close proximity of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) or within Special Landscape Areas (SLA).

Location of service

Maintenance issues are, in the first instance, dealt with by the Rights of Way Warden for the area of the county in which the problem is located, i.e. North Wiltshire, West Wiltshire or East Wiltshire or South Wiltshire. The area boundaries match those of the current local Councils for those areas. When necessary, support is provided to the Wardens by Rights of Way staff located at County Hall in Trowbridge.

Legal framework

The Council’s maintenance duties are as follows:

The authority who are, for the time being the highway authority for a highway maintainable at public expense are under a duty to maintain the highway. (Highways Act 1980, Section 41(1).)
To erect and maintain a signpost at every point where a footpath, bridleway, restricted byway or byway leaves a metalled road, to indicate the status of the path (unless the council of parish or the chairman of the parish meeting is satisfied that it is not necessary). (Countryside Act 1968 Section 27(2) and (3).)

Parish and Community Councils may undertake the maintenance of any footpath, bridleway or restricted byway within the parish or community which is a highway maintainable at public expense.

Future developments

The Council will keep its maintenance policies under regular review, making any alterations required due to changes in the law or that prove to be necessary in the light of experience.

Contact Details

Email: rightsofway@wiltshire.gov.uk
Telephone: 01225 756178
Fax: 01225 713400
Postal Address:
The Rights of Way and Land Charges Manager
Wiltshire Council
County Hall
Trowbridge
Wiltshire
BA14 8JD