WC asks landowners to follow the footpath rules
Due to COVID-19 all Rights of Way and Countryside volunteering has been cancelled, so a backlog of blockages and poor maintenance is building up.
Meanwhile Wiltshire Council is asking landowners to keep public rights of way as clear as possible during 2021.
Having been through almost a year of restrictions, people have been using local places to walk for exercise, and residents are regularly informing the council that pathways are blocked.
Wiltshire has 4,000 miles of footpaths, byways and bridleways which are meant to be looked after by Wiltshire Council. Most of the network is on private land and the landowner and the Local Authority each have responsibilities for maintenance.
The council's Countryside Access Officers look after the network and they are keen to work with landowners to prevent the substantial number of reports the council gets of paths being blocked by crops or ploughing.
The council has collated useful guidance to inform landowners of their responsibilities and what needs to be done to keep paths clear or to reinstate them after ploughing.
The information is downloadable from the Wiltshire Council website https://bit.ly/2IXg99T
Walkers are also reminded to respect The Countryside Code.
Further Information about Wiltshire's rights of way can be found on the council's website: