Greenways or Greenwash?

Greenways or Greenwash?

Posted on Sep 17, 2024 by jsw  | Tags: Greater Cambridge Partnership, Greenways

Photo: Jude Sutton

CPRE Cambridgeshire and Peterborough has expressed concerns in the past about the Greater Cambridge Partnership’s (GCP) Greenways. We believe that they are not the best use of resources, particularly when they may have a detrimental impact on the countryside that outweighs any potential benefits – for example the Greenway at Mere Way (aka Akeman Street) https://www.cprecambs.org.uk/cpre-news/2023/08/14/mere-way-akeman-street/.  We’ve also flagged up concerns that Greenways will also have an effect on rural crime https://www.cprecambs.org.uk/cpre-news/2023/09/05/rural-crime-and-greenways/.

In our view, the GCP and Cambridgeshire County Council (CCC) should be focusing on the registration, maintenance and upkeep of our many public rights of way, including footpaths and bridleways, to ensure that they are well-kept and accessible now and in the future.

The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 requires all historic rights of way to be recorded by 2031. Any rights of way not registered by the deadline – in particular those created before 1949 – risk being lost, which means that they will not be protected by existing legislation. However many Councils are dealing with a huge backlog in applications and there are concerns that some rights of way will be lost before they can be added to the register. 

Added to this is the lack of access to and maintenance of existing public rights of way; in some cases  local  groups and residents are having to do the work themselves – for example the Great Ouse Valley Trust has been trying to address the difficulties faced by CCC in fulfilling their obligations to maintain the Ouse Valley footpath through Cambridgeshire https://greatousevalleytrust.org.uk/ouse-valley-way/maintenance/.

What can you do?

If you are concerned about access or maintenance issues on a public right of way, report it to your local Council – the Ramblers has a useful guide https://www.ramblers.org.uk/go-walking-hub/dealing-problems-public-paths

Log any lost rights of way – again the Ramblers has guidance on how to do this https://dontloseyourway.ramblers.org.uk/

Complete CCC’s Active Travel consultation by 30th September https://consultcambs.uk.engagementhq.com/active-travel-hierarchy.  The consultation is seeking feedback on Active Travel routes and public rights of way in Cambridgeshire.