Three North East councils have welcomed the government’s intention to scrap the deadline to record public paths by 2031.
Durham, Northumberland, and Gateshead councils have all come out in favour of the government’s plan to remove the need to catalogue historical rights of way in six years’ time. The previous Conservative administration had called on local authorities across the country to record such paths, estimated to stretch over 40,000 miles.
The move was dubbed as a “burden” in a Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) blog post earlier this month.
Mark Readman, Durham County Council’s head of highways, said: “We welcome the decision to remove the deadline for recording public paths. As the largest local authority area in the region, County Durham has thousands of miles of footpaths, bridleways and byways. While we need to await more detail following the announcement, this will mean a number of unrecorded pathways can continue to be enjoyed by both residents and visitors.”
A Northumberland County Council spokesperson added : “Northumberland has thousands of public paths which are enjoyed by residents and visitors throughout the year. This announcement is welcome news – as it means there is less chance of losing access to long standing routes which have not been formalised.
“However we need to understand the views of other stakeholders such as potentially affected landowners and study the decision in more detail.”
According to DEFRA, in 2020 health, benefits associated with outdoor pursuits in the UK were valued between £6.2bn and £8.4bn. The department also estimated that there could be a £2.1bn saving in health costs through decent access to green spaces.
Coun John McElroy, cabinet member for the environment and transport at Gateshead Council, said: “It is a good decision from the government to abolish this arbitrary cut off. Some of these paths, which are well-used by walkers, cyclists and horse riders, can date back hundreds of years, but are not officially recorded or protected.
“We need to make evidence based decisions on whether to recognise routes, and add them to the definitive map, so this is a sensible way forward.”
