Rights of way improvement plan 2020 to 2030

Information on where to go is one of the most important ways to increase use of public rights of way. Good quality and well-targeted promotion can encourage those who rarely or never use rights of way, can support the visitor economy and help everyone find more places to explore.

Two national trails cross Buckinghamshire – The Ridgeway National Trail and the Thames Path National Trail. The council works with the National Trail Partnerships to make sure the routes are well-maintained and help to deliver projects. National trails are listed as the highest priority in the rights of way maintenance matrix due to their importance as strategic routes both for local people and visitors.

The Ridgeway National Trail Partnership has aspirations to connect the trail to nearby settlements using rights of way. Plans include an off-road route to Aylesbury, as well as improving access for cyclists and horse riders through a ‘Ridgeway Riding Route’ from Goring to Ivinghoe Beacon. There are also plans to improve links between the trail and other promoted routes and visitor sites.

Both the Thames Path and Ridgeway have a great deal of use by local communities, long distance walkers, tourists and participants in organised fundraising events. The trails support the urban and rural economy of Buckinghamshire and businesses along their length.

To support the objectives of the National Trails Partnerships, we will:

• Continue to support the Ridgeway and Thames Path National Trails partnership boards and working groups (KG1.2).
• Provide pro-rata financial support alongside other neighbouring authorities towards the Trails’ core funding and promotion (KG1.2).
• Work in partnership with the Trails teams to meet national guidance objectives on Trail standards (KG1.2).

There are many longer distance regional or local routes which pass through Buckinghamshire:

• The Chiltern Way,
• The Cross Bucks Way
• The Swans Way
• The Icknield Way
• North Bucks Way
• South Bucks Way
• Seven Shire’s Way
• Phoenix Trail

The council has produced 37 promoted routes which are downloadable from the council’s website via an interactive map. There are both linear routes and circular routes for walkers, cyclists and horse riders. Information on routes is also available from other places, including the Chiltern Society, the Chilterns Conservation Board, National Trust and Visit Buckinghamshire.

Promoted routes and providing information on where to go are important to support health and wellbeing, the visitor economy and people with mobility or other disabilities. Good information provision can attract new users and help urban residents to explore the countryside near to them. Promoted routes, and particularly National Trails, provide a good quality introduction to exploring the countryside.

The public survey showed that users wanted more information about where to go. Nearly half of those surveyed thought more information would help to encourage more use of public rights of way. All types of users wanted more information to support their activities.

The survey also revealed that awareness and use of the existing promoted routes on the council’s website was low. Less than half of those surveyed were aware of them. The longer linear routes were most well-known and used.

The top five most-used routes in the public survey were:

1. The Ridgeway National Trail
2. The Chiltern Way
3. The Grand Union Canal
4. The Icknield Way
5. Aylesbury’s Circular routes

The resources to improve, update or provide additional promotional material are limited. Efforts must therefore be directed to where actions will make the greatest impact and directly meet identified needs. There are also other organisations and outlets for promotion. Working with partners to seek funding and co-ordinate promotion will maximise impact.

The 37 routes the council promotes are the highest priority in the maintenance matrix. It is important these are well-maintained. It may be necessary to explore reducing the number of promoted routes in category 1 to ensure resources are targeted most effectively.

To provide promotional material that is easy to access, we will:

• Identify those existing promoted routes which meet the priorities identified and update the promotional material (KG2.1).
• Improve how the public can access promotional material (improvements to the online platform for downloadable information, and work with partners to improve the reach and co-ordination of promotion) (KG2.2)

To provide new promotional resources which support the identified needs for the county, we will:

• Work with partners and representative organisations to understand more fully the needs of those with mobility and visual impairments and develop promotional material which gives enough information for these users to explore public rights of way, including different formats such as audio resources (KG3.1).
• Develop new promotional material close to urban areas which links the town with the countryside, including areas of housing growth, working with partners and seeking funding as necessary (KG3.2).
• Provide information and promotional material to support equestrians, cyclists and motor vehicle users (KG3.3).
• Work with partners and representative organisations to understand more fully the needs of minority ethnic communities and develop promotional material to support greater use of the countryside (KG3.4).

Promotion can help to address Buckinghamshire’s needs in the following ways.

Good quality information is essential to support the visitor economy. Packaging routes with other attractions encourages people to stay longer and promotes greater spend. Information must be easy to find. The Chilterns Conservation Board and Visit Buckinghamshire are working to expand the visitor economy. The landscape and recreation are essential parts of the branding of the county as a place to escape, unwind and explore, see right.

To support the visitor economy through promotion, we will:

• Work with partners and support measures which limit or mitigate negative impacts from visitors on sensitive sites (KG4.1).
• Work with partners to fully capitalise on Buckinghamshire’s public rights of way asset to support the visitor economy – targeting new markets, attracting spend to rural business, increasing lengths of stay and strengthening Buckinghamshire’s brand (KG4.2).

These users need enough information to decide if they can access a particular route. Information must be in accessible formats. Good information is the very first step in encouraging people. If this is not available, they may not visit at all. The new online mapping system provides some information on the location of structures, such as steps and stiles, but this can be improved.

The rights of way around towns and villages are the most convenient for people to access the countryside close to home. Routes which link urban areas to the countryside will help people to explore without the need to travel. These can be used regularly for exercise without incurring a cost. Information on where to go locally is important both for existing and new residents. The circular routes around Aylesbury are some of the most popular in the county, demonstrating demand for such routes.

Walkers, equestrians, cyclists and motor vehicle users all wanted more information on where they can go.

People in these communities are likely to be less aware of opportunities and less responsive to information.

All promotion needs to be easy to find. An easily accessible web page, giving information on routes, distances, suitability and downloadable resources is needed.

The public highlighted that this is an area which needs improving. Information is also important to support responsible use of the countryside. Access rights come with responsibilities and promotional material will actively encourage responsible use of the countryside. The Countryside Code will be included on the council’s website.