Question: In this current finacial climate and the cuts that are inevitable, why are the council pushing forward a series of "core paths" across galloway, and presumably across d&g. I presonaly feel it is a waste of money as the public are entitled to walk anywhere they wish, furthermore they could cause a health risk to the public as the council wish to put "core paths" through areas poulated with potentially dangerous livestock.
Asked by boghoos3 to Alastair, Elaine, Jane, Sandra, Ted on 28 Sep 2010 in Categories: Transport.
Comments
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The Council have some obligations under the Land Reform Act of 2004 which require them to maintain access routes – not sure whether the core paths project is linked to this. The Land Reform Act gives people the right to responsible access, so they shouldn’t be going through fields with dangerous livestock and the council shouldn’t be putting them there
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The idea of core paths was started by the last (Labour) government before the economy collapsed, so I suppose there seemed enough money to finance core paths when the core paths were started (not that I’m making excuses for Labour, financial disaster came when they were the UK government). I think it’s a good idea to encourage people to walk, though you’re right in realising there isn’t enough money at the moment to maintain them. You’re also right that in Scotland the public are now allowed to walk most places since the Countryside Access Scotland Act was passed in 2004. But I would have to disagree with you about dangerous animals and core paths- I think landlords have agreed to keep dangerous animals like bulls away from core paths.
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The core path network is a Scottish Government initiative that the Council require to complete. People are able to walk where they wish – within reason – provided they do so responsibly but many would prefer to walk on a signposted route. I would have thought that the safety aspect would be assessed before opening any path to the public. There is a tremendous growth in natural tourism locally and many people come to enjoy the outdoors, whether it be to walk or cycle. Any initiative to encourage more people to holiday in the region is very welcome.
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the Council is carrying out a statutory duty (placed on it by the Scottish Parliament) to come up with a network that has been fully consulted upon.
I am concerned about the expectations that are raised by all this work – i can assure you there is no cash for upkeep!
Actually I don’t mind the network idea, as some members of the public like to be very clear about what is a designated way, and landowners quite like to know where the majority of the public is likely to be. In my experience, they have been able to influence the process.
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