Overgrown bridleway/bridlepath

Ellies_mum2

Ellies_mum2

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A friend of mine rode along a bridleway yesterday and ended up virtually lying down on her horse's neck to get under the overgrown branches :( When she got home she contacted the rights of way officer at the local council about it to be told 'Due to cutbacks there is no funding. Take your own hedge trimmers and cut it back yourself' :eek: :mad: :mad:


So where do we go from here? I'm going to e-mail the BHS about it and see what they say but is there anything else we can do? Not sure I trust myself with a set of hedgetrimmers as I can cause enough damage with scissors never mind something that size :o :p

Any ideas?
 
Most of the bridleways round here on council land are not kept in a reasonable condition, the riders just go where they like anyway so everywhere and anywhere has turned into one big bridleway, council don't do anything about it and sit on their backsides, so it just carries on. If you say anything to them you get excuses, they don't want to know. That's Surrey County Council and Tandridge District Council to name and shame.
Oz
 
unicornleather said:
Most of the bridleways round here on council land are not kept in a reasonable condition, the riders just go where they like anyway so everywhere and anywhere has turned into one big bridleway, council don't do anything about it and sit on their backsides, so it just carries on. If you say anything to them you get excuses, they don't want to know. That's Surrey County Council and Tandridge District Council to name and shame.
Oz
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Now why doesn't it surprise me that TDC are useless :rolleyes:
 
You could also get onto the ramblers association to help as there are more of them ie pester power. Interesting in our area we keep gettting these horrid metal kissing gates/latch gates etc put up in various fields which are incredibly ugly but must cost an arm and leg and I really wonder where the money has come from? In this time of cutbacks, the farmers have had real problems with cattle getting out etc. But we seem to be getting more of them.

Apparently the money has been allocated and they are hell bent on replacing the old wooden rustic ones with these? All bizarre. Our lovely rural countryside is full of galvanised gates now! (Hertfordshire)

Highways(ours use to be ROW officer) are the ones to speak too and I would put it in writing to them as I have phoned and they do 0 but write in (dont email). Useless lot...why cant the person you spoke to nip out with a hedgetrimmer. Where has our taxes gone?
 
I may be wrong, but I think the council have to enforce the landowner to keep the bridleway passable?
 
Me and my hubby go round with strimers and hedge cutters as it would be a night mare. No one seams to care though. im fed up with being bramble raped
 
As a parish council we trim the footpaths and the 1 bridleway in the parish (not council owned land either) although we have been told by our county council that the funding for this will be cut substantially if not totally.
Personally i would get a clippers or something and go and do it just so it is useable, if you have bridleways you are very lucky (the one we have is about 100m long and has horses grazing loose in the field so is a waste of time) you can sit and shout about it not being done and be unable to use it or get a working group together and sort something out so everyone can get the enjoyment out of it.
 
lhotse said:
I may be wrong, but I think the council have to enforce the landowner to keep the bridleway passable?
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Trying to find out who the land owner is but I've got a feeling its the local council in which case I could be on a hiding to nothing :(

I have e-mailed the BHS so will see what they say when they reply
 
jrp204 said:
As a parish council we trim the footpaths and the 1 bridleway in the parish (not council owned land either) although we have been told by our county council that the funding for this will be cut substantially if not totally.
Personally i would get a clippers or something and go and do it just so it is useable, if you have bridleways you are very lucky (the one we have is about 100m long and has horses grazing loose in the field so is a waste of time) you can sit and shout about it not being done and be unable to use it or get a working group together and sort something out so everyone can get the enjoyment out of it.
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We have very few bridleways where we are and this one has not long since been reopened after it was closed for about 3 years due to the building of a Relief Road. The majority of our hacking is on roads with speed limits up to 50 mph so you can imagine the pleasure we got from finding out it had been opened again then the let down of finding it is really overgrown.

We are trying to do something about it hence the post on here etc to find out what the options are
 
round here volunteers from the riding association help out.

I have gone down there with my hedge cutter s also i take secateurs with me when i hack out and cut any small branch i can my mare is patient i do a little each time makes a difference
 
I use loppers which I can carry in a rucksack, I need to dismount and pony is good enough to eat grass while I work, but that is on a private estate where the gamekeeper thinks its a good idea to let the track get overgrown so the peasants can have more cover.
I does not take long with loppers.
 
We set up a local bridleways clearance group registered with the BHS and regularly go out and clear bridleways in our area. The councils are going to be getting less and less money to do work on bridleways, so if you want to use them, then might be a good idea to get out and clear them! If you get a group it doesn't take very long and we generally have CAKE and lots of horse chat. Everyone benefits then! You could see if there is a group in your area and join - or start one! You also need landowners permission before you cut things back.
 
The landowner is legally obliged to trim back all overhanging branches on a public right of way.

In your case I would write (by Royal Mail Signed For Delivery) to the Access Department of your local County Council and enclose a map showing exactly where the bridleway is and explain what the problem is. (You could even enclose some pictures) Ask them to repond to you in writing within 14 days. If they fail to respond to you within 14 days then write again. If they fail then to respond write directly to the cheif executive of the County Council by recorded delivery and again ask for a reply in writing.
The County Council should then contact the land owner concerned and give them 14 days to clear the bridleway. If they fail to do so they the County Council can then get their enforcement department to serve an enforcement order on the Landowner/Farmer to clear the bridleway (even if it is the Parish Council/ District Council or County Council that own it?)
The other route to take is to clear it yourself.
 
Thats great, thanks everyone for your input. I have the number now for my local BHS Rights of Way Officer for Warks so will be in touch with him as well as writing to local council as suggested.

I have no objection to clearing overgrown brambles etc but don't want to get in trouble for it etc as that won't help anybody


Thanks again :D
 
When I had problem with parapet height on railway bridge which is a bridlepath contacted Bedford ROW and usual cuts come don't want to know so contacted BHS and they helped and suggested local paper and between us got network rail to higher sides to recommended height, buy ROW waste time and money, lazy so n so's
 
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