£105K TO HELP COUNCIL DEAL WITH BACKLOG OF FOOTPATH CLAIMS (Kirklees Liberal Democrats)

Kirklees Liberal Democrats <info@kirkleeslibdems.org.uk>

£105K TO HELP COUNCIL DEAL WITH BACKLOG OF FOOTPATH CLAIMS

September 10, 2008 7:24 AM

Cllr Kath Pinnock, Liberal Democrat Leader and Member for Cleckheaton Ward

Kirklees is to spend an additional £105K over the next three years tackling a backlog of public applications requesting that local footpaths be made officially recognised public rights of way.

Of the 138 formal applications currently held by the council, 95 are to add footpaths to the area's definitive Public Rights of Way map. But due to demands in other areas of business and the complexity of many of the individual cases, only 20 of these are currently in progress.

To address the backlog, Kirklees Liberal Democrat Group proposed that an additional £105K be made available to fund an additional map officer post in the council's PROW section until 2011. This spending was officially signed off on Wednesday 3 September by the council's Cabinet.

Cllr Kath Pinnock, Liberal Democrat Leader and Member for Cleckheaton Ward, said:

"The size of the backlog clearly revealed a capacity issue within the service, so it was a pretty clear that more money needed to be made available for staffing. We are really pleased that we could guarantee the extra funding for the next three years".

"Getting more footpaths turned into official public rights of way will ensure they are protected for future use. And a well established, maintained and protected public rights of way network will help to encourage more people to travel by foot, resulting in fewer cars on the road and less pollution"

"In addition, a complete map detailing all the available public rights of way will make it possible for walkers and ramblers to explore more parts of our beautiful area".