§ Mr. David NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received on the subject of the Ramblers Association 1989 footpaths appeal; what measures he is planning to prevent footpaths being removed from definitive maps and to encourage local authorities to clear signposts and improve local paths; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyWe have received a number of representations supporting the Ramblers Association's campaign to protect public footpaths. Successive Governments have recognised the importance of the rights of way network in providing access to the countryside for quiet enjoyment, and have given local authorities the duty of ensuring that such paths are recorded, maintained, and signposted where appropriate, and made available for public use. The Countryside Commission, through its "Enjoying the Countryside" initiative, has sought to encourage and assist local authorities to give appropriate priority to this work.
Footpaths can be removed from definitive maps only by means of the statutory procedures providing for the creation, diversion and extinguishment of public paths. The Government propose to amend these provisions, in the light of the Rubinstein judgment, to restore the power to correct mistakes on such maps, where there is evidence to show that a right to way, or its status, was recorded in error.