The partnership is between Herts. County Council Environment
Department through its countryside access officers, HCC Countryside
Management Service and Hunsdon Parish Council. Their aim is to maintain
and enhance the rights of way network. For its part the parish council’s
role is to monitor the condition of the paths and ensure they are kept
open for public use and that any structures, i.e. stiles, gate, bridges
etc. are kept up to standard. To achieve these aims there is a close
working relationship between the three branches of the partnership as
well as with the local landowners and farmers. Grants are available from
the county council to cover costs of materials and labour where local
volunteers are not available.
A secondary role of the partnership is to make people aware of the
footpath network and to encourage full use by means of publicity and
production of maps and leaflets or media such as this web site.
The parish council formally joined the partnership scheme in May
1999. As parish paths warden the services were enlisted of David Hunt, a
former parish councillor whose previous responsibility was for the local
rights of way. His new role was to act as co-ordinator with day-to-day
responsibility for upkeep of the paths and liaison with local farmers.
John Ashley, parish clerk, acted as the second member of the team
providing administrative back up and responsibility for the
implementation of capital projects and financial management of county
council grants. Unfortunately due to other commitments David Hunt was
unable to give such time to the project as he had hoped and reluctantly
withdrew early in 2001. John Ashley although retiring from the clerk’s
position at the same time agreed to take over as footpath warden and
still continues in this capacity.
Their initial task was to carry out a comprehensive survey of each of
the rights of way in the parish detailing the surface conditions and
condition of structures. This was submitted to the county council rights
of way department together with recommendations for improvements and
over the next year various works were carried out to implement these.
Farmers were involved with a view to enlisting their co-operation in
keeping paths across arable fields open and at the same time a programme
of periodic mowing and strimming of field edge paths was organised by
the countryside access officer at HCC to ensure that these were kept
open throughout the year.
The next step was to tell the public about the facilities available.
See Promoting public rights of way
IF YOU BECOME AWARE OF ANY PUBLIC PATHS FALLING BELOW STANDARD,
THEN CONTACT PARISH PATHS WARDEN, JOHN ASHLEY ON 01279 843848 OR e-mail ashley599@btinternet.com
