Responsibilities of the Borough Council
The Borough Council is responsible for:
- Signposting where rights of way leave a metalled road and waymarking where appropriate.
- Maintaining the surface of rights of way and controlling the natural vegetation on the surface.
- Maintaining bridges over natural watercourses.
- Provide a minimum of 25% contribution towards any costs incurred by a landowner in maintaining approved stiles and bridle gates on public rights of way.
- Ensuring that the public paths are free from obstruction and reasonably convenient to use.
- Updating and continuously reviewing the public rights of way on the Definitive Map.
Responsibilities of Landowners and Farmers
- Keeping rights of way clear of any obstructions.
- Cutting back vegetation encroaching from the sides so that it does not inconvenience the public or prevent the line of the right of way being apparent on the ground.
- Keeping paths clear of crops (other than hay and silage) to ensure that they do not inconvenience users and remain apparent on the ground.
- Ensuring that stiles and gates on rights of way are maintained in good order.
- Providing adequate bridges where, with the permission of the highway authority, new ditches are made or existing ones widened.
- Ensuring that field edge footpaths and bridleways and all byways are never cultivated.
- Ensuring that where the cultivation of a cross field footpath or bridleway cannot be conveniently avoided, that its surface is reinstated to at least the minimum width within 14 days of first being cultivated.
- Ensuring that bulls are not kept in a field crossed by a path unless they do not exceed 10 months of age or are both not of a recognised dairy breed and are accompanied by cows or heifers. Breeds of bull, which must not be kept in fields with a public right of way, are British Friesian, British Holstein, Ayrshire, Dairy Shorthorn, Guernsey, Jersey and Kerry.
- Ensuring that any warning notices are displayed only when a bull is present in a field.
- Never keeping an animal known to be aggressive in a field to which the public has any access.
- Ensuring that no misleading signs are placed near rights of way that might discourage access.
Responsibilities of the Public
Your use and enjoyment of the countryside should always be considerate. You must not damage it, or the wildlife it supports, in any way. Always remember that the countryside is a place where many people live and work.
Follow the Countryside Code:
- Be safe - plan ahead and follow any signs
- Leave gates and property as you find them
- Protect plants and animals and take your litter home
- Keep dogs under close control
- Consider other people
For more information about the new Countryside code, visit www.countrysideaccess.gov.uk
When taking a dog along a right of way you must keep it under proper control at all times. You should not let it foul the right of way or farmland or any place that the public may use. You must be especially careful in any area where there is livestock. Don’t allow your dog to run through arable crops to flush out game from hedgerows or scrub. Although the damage caused may seem to be
minimal, such actions will not be appreciated by the farmer, and can easily harm wildlife, especially nesting birds.
Be prepared for farm livestock to react to your presence, particularly if you have a dog with you. Cows and heifers are naturally inquisitive and may follow you. Move carefully and quietly, and if possible walk around them. A strong maternal instinct to protect any calf perceived to be threatened will be displayed by any cow in the herd. Consider your safety and that of your dog.
It is an offence to dump rubbish other than at an authorised tip. Report fly-tipping within the Borough to Swindon Services Tel 01793 463463.