Latest News:
- NEW Feasibility Study - Developing the Bridleway Network
(471KB - pdf help) - Research to complement ROWIPs: The Case of Multi-use Routes - Executive Summary (127KB - pdf help)
- Recommendations arising from the multi usereport and Devon County Council's response
- Research to complement ROWIPs: The Case of Multi-use Routes - Full Report (600KB - pdf help) (note this is a large document and may take a long time to download)
- Citizen Survey (297KB - pdf help) Find out more about the Citizens Panel
The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CROW) (132KB - pdf help) introduced a new duty for highway authorities to produce a Rights of Way Improvement Plan.
For the purposes of the ROWIP rights of way includes footpaths, cycle tracks, bridleways, restricted byways and byways open to all traffic.
The ROWIP must assess:
- the extent to which local rights of way meet present and likely future needs of the public
- the opportunities provided by rights of way for exercise and other forms of open-air recreation and the enjoyment of the area
- the accessibility to blind or partially sighted persons and others with mobility problems.
The ROWIP will include a statement of action for the management of rights of way and for securing an improved network of rights of way with particular regard to matters dealt with in the assessment.
The ROWIP must be produced within 5 years (i.e., by November 2007) and be reviewed after not more than ten years.
The Local Access Forum is an advisory body to the County Council on matters included in the ROWIP and provide an important link for anyone interested in the ROWIP.
Further information on this process can be found on the Countryside Agency website.
Devon County Council is undertaking the work to produce the ROWIP and we are currently assessing the availability of routes . If you have any comments you wish to make please contact the Public Rights of Way office marking the subject ROWIP.