|
also increased from £1.9 million to £5.8 million. (Countryside Commission6, 1993, p5).
As can be seen from Figure 5, spending on rights of way in the eastern region by Local Authorities had increased during 1990 - 93. Suffolk increased a huge 252%, proving that finally the authorities were stepping up their pace towards the year 2000 target and were realising what a huge backlog of work they had left themselves to deal with.
Local Authorities have to by law maintain the surface of rights of way, provide proper signposting and ensure the public's right of way is not obstructed by physical objects illegally placed to prevent passage or by the encroachment of vegetation. The maintenance of the surface of a right of way does not necessarily mean the surface has to be a hard metalled one, indeed few rights of way that are used by off roaders are much more than grassy tracks. Any right of way should in theory never be so overgrown or muddy that it is impossible to use. However although the situation regarding conditions on rights of way is slowly improving due to much needed spending on them, which has almost been absent for the last 20 years, poor conditions do exist. This proves a sore point as many interested parties point the blame at off roaders in their 4WD vehicles. Off roaders do however contribute to maintenance. On the 24th March 1996 as a result of a previous event in France, a national green lane day was organised in Britain, through clubs and Local Authorities, to repair and tidy many rights of way. Such volunteer maintenance by local off road clubs is nothing new, but this was the first nationally organised task to repair many rights of way as an alternative to Local Authority based maintenance, thus saving money.
There are two main causes of damage to vehicular rights of way. Firstly, neglect caused by the lack of maintenance on the behalf of the Local Authorities to keep drains clear, surfaces maintained and undergrowth controlled. Secondly, abuse from the irresponsible use of 4WD vehicles, but also agricultural vehicles, motorbikes, utility providers i.e. water and electricity providers, travellers and fly tippers.
Neglect from local authorities has led to many routes, not just BOAT's and RUPP's becoming overgrown and impassable. Regular use by vehicles helps keep routes open by pushing back undergrowth and trees that walkers for example would simply step around or stoop under. One of the biggest problems is on
(Continued ...)
|
|
