§ Mr. Anne CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much has been spent or grant aided, in each of the last three years for which figures are available, on the repair of eroded footpaths by the Countryside Commission for England.
§ Mr. AtkinsRepair of the surface of footpaths is the legal responsibility of the highway authority, the landowner or the occupier, depending on the cause of the damage to the path surface. The Countryside Commission does not contribute grant aid towards this statutory duty, except in the case of national trails.
In the last three years, the commission has spent the following on the surface restoration of trails:
Year £ 1991–92 700,000 1992–93 1,000,000 1993–94 850,000 These sums were spent mainly on restoring paths crossing peat in upland area, particularly the Cleveland and Pennine ways.
§ Mr. Anne CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the areas in Great Britain most affected by the erosion of footpaths.
§ Mr. AtkinsIn 1993–94, the Countryside Commission conducted a sample public rights of way condition survey in England. Walkers found that only 14 out of 11,847 links—a section of path between two junctions—surveyed were "impassable/unusable" on account of erosion. Some 103 links were "impassable/unusable" because they were muddy, boggy or flooded, but the causes for this will be varied. The full results of the survey are due to be published in the summer.