HC Deb 27 October 1994 vol 248 cc815-6W
Mr. Gordon Prentice

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment has been made of the number of public rights of way that have been blocked or otherwise obstructed by landowners since 1984.

Mr. Atkins

The Countryside Commission carried out a major sample survey of the condition of the network in 1988 and estimated that more than 39,000 km of rights of way were blocked and unusable, about half of which were thought to be the responsibility of landowners. The commission, which gave up responsibility for Wales in 1991, has a further sample survey in hand.