Keeping the Public Rights of Way Free from Obstruction

Most of the PROW network in Worcestershire is free from obstructions and can be used by members of the public. In the large majority of circumstances many landowners and other parties maintain and manage their responsibilities in respect of PROW, to a good degree.

However, there are numerous ways in which a public right of way can become obstructed, including:

• Vegetation growing through the path or overhanging the path
• Ploughed paths and growing crops
• Gates and stiles missing, broken, locked or fixed with barbed wire
• Bridges broken or missing
• Bulls or other animals which might intimidate people using a path
• Restriction to the width of a right of way
• Buildings constructed on the path
• Misleading signs denying the right of access
• Intimidation and nuisance
• Electric or barbed wire fences across or close alongside
• Materials dumped on the path
• Cars or other machinery blocking the route
• Fallen trees or branches
• Landslips
• Very muddy or flooded surface

Sometimes an obstruction will only affect some users, some of the time or it may make the path less easy, but still possible, to use. No obstruction is acceptable although the priority they are dealt with is according to the restriction on use of the public right of way.

Some of the above obstructions are the responsibility of the highway authority such as undergrowth, landslips and missing or broken bridges and the Countryside Service works to carry out appropriate maintenance to remove such obstructions.

Other obstructions are often the responsibility of the landowner/occupier – this may be due to a lack of management such as letting a hedge become overgrown or failing to clear a tree which has been blown down or it may be a deliberate act such as locking a gate. Many deliberate acts are not intended to prevent access but may be due to a misunderstanding, such as locking gates and expecting walkers to simply climb over, but are nevertheless unlawful.

The boundary around a property is generally the responsibility of the owner or occupier of that property or shared between adjacent owners. Where property borders an enclosed public right of way the maintenance of the fence, hedge or wall is almost always the sole responsibility of the landowner. The reason for this is that the barrier exists for the benefit of the user of that land not the public right of way  – whether it is to keep stock in a field or to keep users of the way from straying onto the adjacent land. Where a public right of way crosses a fence, wall, hedge, etc. it is therefore the responsibility of the landowner/occupier to provide a means of getting through or over that barrier, such as a gate (the County Council normally offer a grant of at least 25% for maintaining such structures, often given in the form of providing the materials).

Enforcement Officers working for the Countryside Service ensure that this maintenance is carried out so that you can use the public rights of way safely and conveniently.

In most cases the landowners/occupiers respond to a request from the County Council to carry out the necessary work once the situation and requirements have been explained. However, sometimes this does not happen and it is necessary to serve a legal notice requiring the work to be carried out and if the obstruction still remains the County Council can carry out the work at the landowner’s expense or even prosecute the person responsible.

• Countryside Service
• Public Rights of Way
• What are Public Rights of Way
• Definitive Rights of Way Map
• Maintenance and Obstructions
• Enforcement
• Reporting a Problem
• Recording, Changing and Closing
• Rights of Way Improvement Plan
• Local Access Forum
• County Council Working Practices
• Working Practices
• Local Contacts
• Section 31 Deposits
• Definitive Map Modification Orders
• Definitive Map Modification Order Reports
• Rosses and Guises Lanes, Wichenford