Rights of Way Improvement Plan
The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 places all highway authorities under a duty to prepare and publish a Rights of Way Improvement Plan (ROWIP) by November 2007.
The Council as highway authority must then assess and review the plan within ten years and at similar intervals thereafter. In order to do this, the Council has considered the whole network of non-motorised routes, not just definitive rights of way.
The ROWIP must contain the Council's assessment of:
- the extent to which local rights of way (ROW) meet the present and likely future needs of the public;
- the opportunities provided by local rights of way for exercise, and other forms of outdoor recreation and the enjoyment of the authority's area;
- the accessibility of local ROW to blind or partially sighted persons and others with mobility problems.
The Rotherham Rights of Way Improvement Plan
The Improvement Plan aims to;
- Provide a rights of way network which is correctly recorded, easy to follow, free from obstruction and safe to use.
- Develop a network which meets the needs of local users and visitors to the borough whilst retaining the character of the countryside.
- Make the most of access opportunities to enable the network to be accessed by the widest possible audience, with particular regard to those with mobility problems.
- Increase opportunities for sustainable travel, for leisure and access to work, school and local services.
- Ensure that proposals and schemes are prioritised and implemented to meet the needs and aspirations of the population to deliver maximum benefit within available resources.
- Promote and encourage respect and understanding between path users and occupiers in order to minimise conflict.
The ROWIP is available to download below. Alternatively the improvement plan can be obtained either as a hard copy or on CD format by contacting us.