How many of you block rights of way?

[Devil's advocate]

According to radio 4, due to lack of council funding farmers are routinly blocking rights of way at least 33,000 cases of this.

Personally I'm finding the opposite that my walls, fences, gates & ditches are often vandalised & that tresspassing is endemic.

Thankfully I'm in a posh area in some parts of South Yorkshire it is worse.

 

[thorpe]

According to radio 4, due to lack of council funding farmers are routinly blocking rights of way at least 33,000 cases of this.

Personally I'm finding the opposite that my walls, fences, gates & ditches are often vandalised & that tresspassing is endemic.

Thankfully I'm in a posh area in some parts of South Yorkshire it is worse.

as a mainly arable place 20 years ago we had very few gate's on the place. over th year's we gated up and gapped up the hedge's and thank goodness we did, it would be a free for all if we didn't. you only have to leave a gate open for 5 min's and it's a invitation to come in , o the joy's of the urban fringe!

 

[Devil's advocate]

I find even if some grass grows on the footpath, council are straight onto me.

However any damage by the public or any maintance of the boundaries to The Transpennine trail they have no funds.

 

[Badshot]

I expect most of the blockages are caused by fly tipping.

 

[DrWazzock]

Some rights of way are “blocked” round here because floodwater has washed the footbridges across water courses away. At one time the council would have slapped a new footbridge across the ditch for little cost but nowadays with all the paperwork, elf n safety and such like the cost locally to span a very modest gap was going to be £33,000 and they just don’t have the budget for that so the right of way has remained closed for years. Reckon I could replace it myself for a couple of hundred in half a day but it’s not on my land and I don’t have the right certificates so let’s leave it blocked and let the walkers fume at the self inflicted impasse we’ve reached as a woke, jobsworth entitled and over priced society.

 

[DrWazzock]

With rewetting of hitherto drained land for various schemes I can only see access reducing even further. Next thing they’ll be ranting on radio 4 about that.

 

[teslacoils]

It's just a bit of anti farmer media. I'm fortunate to be in an area of zero public footpaths.

 

[Boysground]

I have a number of footpaths, some of which are under water at the moment so impassable. One of them is ok but has a couple of muddy gate ways. I thought for christmas i would make thinks a bit better and cleared some of the mud and spread some spare woodchip. This is in no way anything to do with it being my route to the pub. I have now had a complaint saying i didn’t do a good enough job and should have put stone down!!!

Bg

 

[Exfarmer]

Some rights of way are “blocked” round here because floodwater has washed the footbridges across water courses away. At one time the council would have slapped a new footbridge across the ditch for little cost but nowadays with all the paperwork, elf n safety and such like the cost locally to span a very modest gap was going to be £33,000 and they just don’t have the budget for that so the right of way has remained closed for years. Reckon I could replace it myself for a couple of hundred in half a day but it’s not on my land and I don’t have the right certificates so let’s leave it blocked and let the walkers fume at the self inflicted impasse we’ve reached as a woke, jobsworth entitled and over priced society.

Years ago most of the bridges on a footpath would be at most a sleeper, wont do on so many grounds today, not least disability rights , so easier just to close the lot.
Down the road here Network rail spent several million on a foot bridge where a bridlepath crosses the railway it is a double bridge with steps for the able bodied and a graded smooth path for horses and bikes. All to replace the old gated crossing because at the next crossing a mile down the line, someone committed suicide. This crossing is still gated ?

 

[jondear]

Bbc news generation again .Didn't really mention who or what was blocking them !
None blocked around here as it's dog walking central !

 

[Devil's advocate]

Bbc news generation again .Didn't really mention who or what was blocking them !
None blocked around here as it's dog walking central !

Exactly NFU should be right on it.

Bang All the damage from trespassing are they real footpaths that have these blockages? Or just places where people have pushed down walls to trespass.

 

[Nearly]

The dream.

 

[Jon]

Well, I have just caused a fuss locally by tidying up a footpath.
Hedge brought back to hedge height, lane now light and airy so will allow grasses, flowers etc to grow, but looks a mess at the moment, but is clear, and will be easier for me to maintain at better times of year.

A few locals claimed I have ripped out the hedge, it's still there just three to four foot high, rather than 20ft and invasive.

 

[Devil's advocate]

The dream.
View attachment 1158056

Its what to do with the ones on the wrong side of the fence.

 

[neilo]

Well, I have just caused a fuss locally by tidying up a footpath.
Hedge brought back to hedge height, lane now light and airy so will allow grasses, flowers etc to grow, but looks a mess at the moment, but is clear, and will be easier for me to maintain at better times of year.

A few locals claimed I have ripped out the hedge, it's still there just three to four foot high, rather than 20ft and invasive.

I did similar on a footpath here a few years ago, expecting much the same response. All I got was complaints that I hadn’t taken more of the tree branches off. Can’t win!

 

[neilo]

The dream.
View attachment 1158056

Mrs NeilO’s dream is to win the Euromillion lottery, buy this place off the estate, then fence all the footpaths like that and gift the field nearest the town to caravan dwellers.

 

[Enfoff]

Lincs County Council are on my case instantly if I so much as drop a bale on the footpath - mainly due to the militant walkers around here. Its not the case when the boot is on the other foot, LCC had to close a path as the small wooden footbridge needed replacing and it took them 8 months to reopen this.

 

[Dman2]

Its what to do with the ones on the wrong side of the fence.

That`s where the lions roam

 

[egbert]

I hear some 'blocking' is due to growth of brambles.
you wicked selfish wealthy landowners....deliberately sowing brambles to block RoW

 

[renewablejohn]

Had a battle for 25 years in respect of a footpath which has been wrongly marked on the council official map despite being created by Act of Parliament. New neighbor with loads of money sorted the problem by just fencing the access down the route they should have been using across his field rather than up his driveway. Silence from the council has been deafening and just shows the attitude change just because he has the money to defend his action through the courts. Obviously I am very grateful as we no longer get the ignorant walkers demanding to go across our land.