Latest news with #RightsofWayImprovementPlan
Powys County Times
29-06-2025
- Politics
- Powys County Times
Powys County Council is failing to maintain rights of way
The Economy, Residents and Communities Scrutiny Committee is considering a report tomorrow (at the time of writing) on reviewing the Rights of Way Improvement Plan (ROWIP). It is rather a shame that as chair of the Local Access Forum I did not know about this report until after it was sent out. The report makes no reference to the LAF and the point I have been making for sometime that the current plan is in need of urgent review as it is clearly failing. There is widespread agreement that, for a whole variety of reasons, the council is failing to look after the rights of way in Powys. I have been pressing for your committee to review performance against the ROWIP for the last couple of years. I was originally told that this would be done when time permitted but I was subsequently informed that this was not a role for your committee. The reality is that there has been no scrutiny of how the council has performed against the ROWIP since it was published in 2018. In the report before your committee on Thursday it suggests that the council should wait until next year (I have been told separately in the mid part of 26/27) to start a review. For me this is not good enough. When the council is told by an outside inspectorate, e.g. Estyn, that all is not well with a particular service, the council rushes to address this issue straight away. Unfortunately there isn't an external inspectorate to look at rights of way but surely we don't need that because, as indicated earlier, there is widespread acceptance that the council is failing in its statutory duties to do so. Can I suggest three things please: The council does not wait until the middle of the next financial year to start reviewing the ROWIP but instead identifies additional resources so it can be done much sooner to help address the crisis we have now with our rights way As a precursor to the review the council engages an independent agency to review how it is discharging the nine principal rights of ways duties that highway authorities have e.g. Audit Wales or the Future Generation Commissioner perhaps There is early discussion with the LAF about the process and timetable for the review We need to avoid kicking this issue into the long grass yet again. I do try to avoid exaggerating things, but I do think that it is reasonable to say that the council's failure to address this now is at the expense of future generations. They will not have good access to the countryside, and all the good that brings, if things continue as they are. Urgency is required.
Powys County Times
15-06-2025
- Business
- Powys County Times
Windfarm cash could help boost Powys footpath network
WINDFARM developers could be asked to stump up money that can be used to improve Powys' network of footpaths. At a meeting of Powys County Council's Economy, Residents and Communities scrutiny committee on Thursday, June 12 councillors were given an update on the progress of the current Rights of Way Improvement Plan (ROWIP). This is a legal document that sets out what the council intends to do over 10 years to manage 8,000 kilometres of rights of way, plus open access land including commons in Powys. This is the largest network in the UK and does not include the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park area. Countryside access and recreation lead officer Sian Barnes said a review of the plan would begin early in the 2026/2027 financial year, and that funding would be part of this. Ms Barnes said; 'We knew in 2017 investment of over £1 million was needed to bring the network up to a standard that's open an easy to use, and at that stage only 38 per cent made that standard.' She said that since then costs have soared, but Welsh Government grants to cover some costs are only available until 2027. Ms Barnes said: 'The impacts of climate change are affecting all of us, countryside assets are suffering greater deterioration because we have increasing extreme weather and predominantly warmer wetter weather which is impacting on materials.' Ms Barnes told the committee that her team were looking for funding through the Marches Forward Partnership. 'And also, major developments including wind and solar farms, section 106 funding is routinely sought from wind farm developers and can be significant,' said Ms Barnes. These s106 agreements are a legally binding contract between a planning authority and developer which sees them contribute towards local infrastructure and services. Ms Barnes said the number of people going into the countryside increased significantly during the Covid-19 outbreak and this trend has continued. Committee vice-chairman Cllr Gary Mitchell (Plaid Cymru) said: 'It's useful to have that update, 2028 is not that far away. 'The figures are old but if we'd have invested £1 million back in 2018, we'd have a pretty good network. 'I would argue that the benefit that network brings in terms of tourism, communities connecting up with each other, is vast. He estimated that the £1 million from 2017 is now worth £3 million to £4 million today and believed it would be worth spending this sum on the network over a three to five years would bring about 'phenomenal changes.' Cllr Mitchell also wanted to see the Countryside Services team have the 'ability to respond' to planning application so that they could work on s106 agreements with more developers than just the ones involved in big energy projects.
